Most of hold an incomplete view of love. We think of marriage or butterflies in the stomach. We think of passion and sex. Parenting and obedience. We think of long suffering or settling. We think of perversions and abuses, pains and heartaches. Some of even think of the Cross.
We tend to think of love as something that strikes our souls out of thin air. Or that it's easy and bubbly and always happy and always there when it's true.
Love is mixed in with all of these things but it is not fully any of them and some of them not at all. True Love has marital, sexual, parental, relational, mental, emotional, physical, verbal, spiritual boundaries that define it as love. Without a definition love is...confused at best.
Love is actually quite simple. That doesn't mean it's easy and it doesn't mean we won't have to meditate and pray and practice and search the infinite number of examples and imperatives to love in the Scriptures on a regular basis.
Two ancient but absolutely original thoughts:
1) 'This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for others.' 1 John 3:16
2) 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind...Love your neighbor as yourself.' Matthew 22:37-40
When you have the choice to love another in place of hating or even disliking them...choose love. Mentally think of them as equals in His creation. Emotionally control your initial reactions. Physically serve them. Spiritually mirror the attitude of Christ who did the same to you.
There are universal experiences of love and perversions of it. It is very real, and very intentionally shaped by YHVH. Love.