Love is a form of energy, and IMO is the basis for all human energy. One could argue that fear is the real basis, but I would say it's love. Fear, and all other negative energies, are the product of love.

That's a big statement - which has been kicking round in my head since i read it. You're onto something fundamental here. It gives the phrase Labor of Love added meaning. If you love doing something you have way more energy than you do for stuff you don't like doing - we all know that feeling.

Well, full disclosure, I was pretty drunk when I wrote that, but I'll stand by it, and in fact your commentary on it does it justice. Love is a horrible word in English, so loaded, but you've defined it somewhat. You're referring to what modern psychology models, or at least one of my favorite models, would define as the state of cognitive flow which was developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (see Ted talk).

Are we, in this brave new world of ours, experiencing flow less? I'm not sure. I'd say that compared to, say, 300 years ago, almost certainly so. But what about the last 50 years? My sense is that the industrial revolution has greatly diminished the frequency of flow, but maybe not.

Regardless, love, if defined at least in part by that which results in us experiencing cognitive flow, is indeed the basis or at least a very high level of energy. The best art, the best engineering, discoveries, breakthroughs, communities, relationships, they all align with this theory of flow.

So is our product the result of energy/love expended to produce it?

Seems like it.

Yes, I think so.

Teaching is a good example - you do put positive (love) energy into it - to engaging with your students. It motivates you as well as increases the quality of the product. Then the beauty of it is that that energy loops back from the engaged students to keep you going for next time (if you're doing it right) - it sets a standard.

As much as I want to retire, I really value my current situation in which I'm working with kids between the ages of 11-13. It's a phenomenal age. Amazing, really. I just don't have the energy to keep up. But it's really a privilege to be part of their lives, to be able to witness that emergence of personalities and awareness. That is, when I'm not internally cussing my fate! It takes a LOT of energy to be a teacher for all those little balls of extreme energy and at the same time put up with the bullshit that is the administrative framework under which we live and that will ultimately stifle their instincts.

Plato had this idea of Unforgetting - that might be the magic key to understanding in this case as well.

That's a timely comment. I just recently started pondering about the early cave painters, the first. There must have been a first, or early emerging set of cave painters. Can you imagine that first person, or that early emergence of the realization of the ability to symbolize something by drawing? That was a huge leap. I mean, going from a complete in the moment being, simply reacting to stimuli, going from that to becoming aware of this animal you eat, aware and remembering it to the point where you can draw it on a wall with charcoal or blood? That's amazing.

And to think that newborns go through this, we all went through this individually. But at some point, our species made the leap to do this. Anyway...

Love is the original base of energy, but that simple truth became forgotten . It was always there though - still is - can still be tapped into ...

Yeah, I think that's it. That thing we do when we're totally immersed. It might actually be making love, but it could also be painting, building a bird house, making paper, gardening, or just watching the sunset. To play the devil's advocate, a biologist would probably say that's all bullshit. We're all driven by the survival instinct and all this love bullshit is just a chemical process in our brains that insures our survival. But I would disagree. I think there's more to it than that.