l0ve: The most sophisticated word in all of language:

The ancient Greeks were just as sophisticated in the way they talked about love, recognizing seven different varieties. They would have been shocked by our crudeness in using a single word both to whisper “l love you” over a candlelit meal and to casually sign an email “lots of love.” So what were the faces of love known to the Greeks?

Philia: Which the Greeks valued far more than the base sexuality of even eros. Philia concerned the deep comradely friendship that developed between brothers in arms who had fought side by side on the battlefield. It was about showing loyalty to your friends, sacrificing for them, as well as sharing your emotions with them. We can all ask ourselves how much of this comradely philia love we have in our lives. It’s an important question in an age when we attempt to amass “friends” on Face-book or ‘followers’ on Twitter — achievements that would have hardly impressed the Greeks. The city of Philadelphia is named after this form of love! Not surprisingly, Philia was often coupled with other forms of the word (G0YS already know this).

Ludus: This was the Greek’s idea of playful love, which referred to the playful affection between children or young lovers. We’ve all had a taste of it in the flirting and teasing in the early stages of a relationship. But we also live out our ludus when we sit around in a bar bantering and laughing with friends, or when we go out dancing. Dancing with strangers may be the ultimate ludic activity. Social norms frown on this kind of adult playful frivolity, but a little more ludus might be just what we need to spice up our love lives.

Philautia: This variety of love was philautia or self-love. The Greeks realized there were two types. One was an unhealthy variety associated with narcissism, where you became self-obsessed, and focused on gaining personal fame and fortune at the detriment of others. A healthier version of philautia enhanced your wider capacity to love. The idea was that if you like yourself and feel secure in yourself, you will have plenty of love to give others. Or as Aristotle put it, “All friendly feelings for others are an extension of man’s feelings for himself.”

Storge: Similar to philia, embodies the love between parents and their children or adults who have parental temperaments. If you've ever wondered why people adopt children, operate orphanages, start recreational youth centers, organize scouts groups, & all of the other activities that culture youth in society; - Storge is the reason.

Agape: Perhaps the most radical, was agape or selfless love. This was a love that you extended to all people, whether family members or distant strangers. Agape was later translated into Latin as caritas, which is the origin of our word charity. Lewis referred to it as “gift love,” the highest form of Christian love.  There is growing evidence that agape is in a dangerous decline in many countries. Empathy levels in the U.S. have dropped nearly 50 percent over the past 40 years, with the steepest fall occurring in the past decade. We urgently need to revive our capacity to care about strangers.

Pragma: Another Greek love was pragma or mature love. This was the deep understanding that developed between long-married couples. It was about making compromises to help the relationship work over time, and showing patience and tolerance. The psychoanalyst Erich Fromm said that we expend too much energy on “falling in love” and need to learn more how to “stand in love.” Pragma is precisely about standing in love — making an effort to give love rather than just receive it. With divorce rates currently running at 50 percent, the Greeks would surely think we should bring a serious dose of pragma into our relationships.

Eros: The most recognized kind of love is often eros, named after the Greek god - and represented the idea of sexual passion and desire. But the Greeks didn’t always think of it as something positive. In fact, eros was viewed as a dangerous, fiery and irrational form of love that could take hold of you and possess you — an attitude shared by many later spiritual thinkers. Misused, Eros sees people as mere sexual objects. However, tempered with an attitude that frames Eros as part of love's bigger picture as an intense aesthetic appreciation; -It can become one of most desirable parts of love.  In context, Eros becomes the most appreciated physical part of love. Nothing says "acceptance" on a deeply personal level like sexual attraction does. And those who have looked deeply into the matter know that adult erotic imagery does not necessarily equal "pornograpy". Wanting to spend time together AFTER the climax is the indicator that EROS is but a subset of your love-mindset.

 Love is the ONLY "WHY"

In the movie, "Collateral Beauty", the protagonist builds a business empire around the ideology that there are (3) reasons why people do the things that they do. As the movie progresses and those (3) motives are each given a voice via anthropomorphism; -LOVE declares about itself: "I am the only 'why'!". It is the most profound line in the script of what is an awesome movie. "God is Love" - 1st John 4:8 Bible  

"Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." - Romans 13:10

Some people are surprised to discover that this website esteems LOVE so highly when the subject matter covered the most is about sex - specifically, among men. The reason why love seems to take a 2nd place is because it is presumed by default by the site editor while the battlefield that most men encounter is regarding same-sex intimacy. Sex is the most visible component - especially because men are highly sexual & male genitals are external & visible. Without sex, a man's loving relationship is sorely incomplete physically & psychologically. Furthermore, most men have an innate sex drive that perpetually seeks satiation & fulfillment. Men who are emotionally shallow seek only to satiate the cravings & their lives are often punctuated with shallow relationships, one-night-stands, & extreme selfishness. That mindset was articulated very clearly in the lyrics to SuperTramp's "Goodbye Stranger". 

G0YS, in contrast seek to create life-long loving friendships; -& male friends that are attractive can be BEST-Friends bonded sexually within the constraints that "Love works no ill". Using history as the basis for g0y bonding philosophy; - we know that men are polyamorous, ambisexual, & deeply concerned with the integrity of covenants. The Hebrew TeNaK is one of the best examples of this philosophy & when read in context, makes a great amount of sense - ethically & legally. This is most astonishing when the account of David (future king) & Jonathan (active prince) is scrutinized based on the LEGAL points made within the related text & 2nd Samuel 1:26.
And once you realize that the so-called "gay clobber passages" such as Lev 18:22 are actually very specific prohibitions against male/male AnalSex (which is why there is no female counterpart), then a thoughtful person might ask the question "Does the Torah address male/male sex at all?". Yes, it does - comprehensively: "And if the flow of seed go out from a man, then he shall bathe all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the evening. And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the flow of seed, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the evening. The woman also with whom a man shall lie carnally, they shall both bathe themselves in water, and be unclean until the evening." - Lev 15:16-18 The fact is that male/male sexual contact where frottage leads to ejaculation on skin isn't even a sin. The Torah commands a BATH. And this makes perfect sense. But a bath is a far cry from the death-verdict that so many so-called "Christians" toss about - not knowing the fundamentals about properly reading Hebrew law! G0YS has spent 2+ decades explaining the intellectual train-wreck masquerading as Christianity. And for the 1st time in over 50 years, men of good-faith have a resource that explains how simply loving another man can be, - as long as the actions between the men don't violate the simple principle that "Love works no ill". I remember how profound reaching this conclusion was decades ago. Avoid AnalSex & steer clear of those who do the deed, - & you won't get sick. And it was true! At 15 I got a job at a local general store part time. I found a way to snag booze & the stronger brew & covertly get the money into the till so that it wasn't theft & would not attract attention. I upgraded a tree-house I'd built when I was 13 into a hunting blind with sleeping accommodations for up to 3 guys & began to seduce guys with the help of "bullets & brew". Camping high up in a hunting-blind/tree-house,  I targeted muscular athletic guys with low body fat (even college guys & athletes from competing schools); - the kind of guys a 16oz 12-proof beer would put a hard buzz into. Get 3 shots into 'em & they'd open up with their deep emotions & cry into your hugging arms. Coors. Conversation. Caring, Compassion. Chuck "of 2 Buks". Crying. Cuddling. Clothing. Kahlua. Caressing. Kissing. Cock-rubbing. 'Cumming' of age. Camaraderie. Confidence. And once a guy has experienced the cycle of intense male bonding with a "solid guy" who loves & respects him climaxing with all-night-long sexual-release as part of the package ... Well, the pattern is going to repeat itself - beer or no beer. Most guys are selectively BIsexual but, - have no interest whatsoever in the bizarre ass-bloodying culture called "gay". Given the right circumstances, most guys would still pump 'n dump any willing tit-set that managed to make the cheerleading squad. And I realized this fact in my teens: Our modern western culture was severely out of sync with fundamental biology & too willing to let ignoramuses set policy.  My school was part of some group politico all concerned that "teenagers were having sex" - as if that hadn't been the model for millennia! My great grandparents had gotten married when he was 17 and she was 15. This was not an exception. And somehow, a great wave of stupidity had come upon society that was declaring teenage sex to be a great "problem". Stupid people, devoid of understanding historical precedent, yet on the school board making policy; -THAT was the "PROBLEM". All that the minions of "Church-Ladies" wanted was for young people in their physical prime & peak sex-hormonal levels to "just say 'No'" to nature until they were out of school. WTF! As a guy, my dick came to life when I was 12. 6th grade. I liked guys. Homophobia was rampant - near paranoid levels; -& yet my conscience told me there was nothing wrong with liking guys, & I decided very early on that the "Church-Lady" was going to be systematically excluded from the details of my life via locked-doors, self-preserving lies & dark curtains (and a tree-house hunting-blind with locks & camo).  But I digress.
The entire atmosphere set by the [hunting-blind/tree-house combo-cabin] was so masculine you could smell the testosterone. Guns, brews, bunks & bros. The place even had a urinal consisting of a removable funnel connected to a black hose that ran thru the wall & down the side of a tree & into the ground where course gravel a meter deep acted as a buffer allowing drainage access into the ground below it. 2 RV refrigerators with propane & solar power options kept food & other things cold & frozen. The solar panels & a lithium-iron storage based inverter were the stars of the show. Powering TVs, walkie-talkies, phones, computers, (2) refrigerators & LED lighting (inside & outside) - the shade tolerant panels (purchased refurbished 2nd hand) were capable of delivering 1200+ watts in full sun; - The inverter capable of 2500 once charged!
The small stove could burn wood or anthracite & easily heated the place in cold weather thanks to careful foam-inter-panel insulation practices I used when remodeling. It also was pretty good at boiling water & cooking stovetop stuff.
Yeah, even before I was 17, I had the ultimate guy hangout. Hunting season was LEGEND from that location. Record setting deer & turkey came out of that field & people talked about "Jake's camo'd hunting blind"! I always let my guest take the shot when it looked like a prize possibility. 
About the bunk-beds: The bottom bunk had a memory foam mattress. The top & loft beds used a standard air mattress. In cooler weather, the inside temp was kept at about 45F at night by burning the anthracite very slowly for an all night burn without needing to add more before morning. Each air-mattress lost heat rapidly thru its air chamber; - but the foam mattress was toasty (and I always took the bottom bunk ;-)  So, when I was staying the 1st time with a good looking buddy; - I already knew that he was going to get cold in that air-bed - which made the perfect excuse to insist he share the lower bunk with me (in the spirit of good hospitality). The twin sized mattress made sleeping close. Hug the guy to rewarm him & casually morph the hug into a casual massage. Combined with a few beers - inhibitions came down quickly. And as other masculine guys have observed: When you treat another guy with gentle kindness & frame it in extreme respect - the event "just doesn't seem gay". Guys become "massage junkies" fast when they realize that you don't mind giving good long ones & that your are not scoping their asshole. And you learn quickly to use the "masturbation talk" to establish the definition of what makes a guy actually "queer". In case you're not familiar with that talk - it goes like this. The "gay" subject comes up. Waste NO time explaining that the act of the anal--sex is what makes a guy "into a fag". You drive it home that that is the act that has earned the "fag" title. And then you "prove it" with the "masturbation interrogation": You ask the guy you're with a question like: "OK. No bullsh!t: Most guys jack off because they tire of their d!cks telling them they need to get laid. You know what I mean?". You are waiting for the "Yes" response in whatever form it takes. The nature of the question insinuates that YOU relate hence you likely jack-off. And because you "admitted it", most guys know that admitting it won't make them look bad to you - because YOU "relate". The next question goes like: "So, a guy who jacks-off has a guy's dick in his hand ... It may be his own but the fact is that he has a guy's dick in his hand & it feels good. Does that make him 'gay'?" Most guys immediately say "NO". So you press in harder with the question: "So, you're saying that it's possible to have a guy's dick in your hand and enjoy it - and not be "gay". The word 'HOMO' means 'the same' and you don't get more 'the same' having sex then when it's YOU having sex with YOU. You are a guy. When you jack off you have a guy's dick in your hand and your hand is the hand of a GUY. And it feels so good that you eventually have an orgasm. In itself - there is nothing wrong with a guy giving his dick what it needs. The thing that most guys hate is the notion of is being treated like something less than a man by another man. A man who fucks another guy up the ass is treating the recipient as if his ass was a vagina. This is why the term "B!TCHED" is used. Men don't want to be treated with disrespect and the ASS is not a vagina!". At this time, most guys are seriously thinking details thru that they have never considered carefully. Then you hit them with a new definition: "Bro: Jack'n-off is sex with 'someone' of the same gender 'who' understands you completely; -& 'someone' you implicitly trust to never disrespect you.". And then you hit them with the following: "That is also the definition of a 'Best friend' ; -Somebody who loves, respects, & understands you fully & unconditionally. He would never demean you or harm you.". Then you hit them with: "Fags have a long well-documented history of demeaning & hurting other men and over 100-million men are DEAD and many more live with destroyed lives because of the extreme disrespect & contempt for Men's lives that these man-fails inflict". The "masturbation interrogation" will bring peace to a very large number of BIsexual men who love men, but have no inclination to hurt or demean the men they love. The talk will also bring peace to a large number of men who are exclusively attracted to men & have no inclination to hurt or demean the men they love.". The only group of men who reject this message are the narcissistic & sociopathic people who derive pleasure from demeaning & harming men.

This approach of combining kindness & knowledge with immediate circumstances is a powerful aphrodisiac on the +60% of men who are selectively amBIsexual! They're boozed & buzzing, in bed with a guy who knows his way around the gym while they're being hugged & massaged by a guy who cares about them & is explaining that the crowning tell of disrespect toward men is act of anal--sex. Dan Lianele was a year ahead of men and grew up in a home that left him a latch-key kid since he was 10. As an only child with mostly absentee parents, he was seriously starved of affectionate contact. It was because of the fact we lived in a location where gangs & other bad influences didn't exist that he wasn't pulled into something life destroying. As it was, he was headed into the Marine Corps after summer break. Over November break, I invited him to the "sky-cabin" for a day of snowmobile fun & (whispered: "the brew sampler") which consisted of 144 air-flight sized bottles of assorted liquors left at the cabin by an air-force buddy named Rodney from an airline cleanout during a retrofit. Dan's answer was, "Twist my arm". Dan did everything that he could if he could later subtly boast about in conversation. He was usually the loudest voice in the room and carried a demeanor that intimidated most people. One muscular, handsome pile of attitude, - most of the females clamed they thought he was "caustic". Well, caustic enough not to date. And Dan said he didn't need any woman who wanted to 'wear the pants'.
Well, November break arrived with no snow & extended indian-summer (which happened about every 7 years according to the almanac) so we needed to settle on ATVs. The day we hit the cabin, there was a hard, cold snap in the forecast. For late-lunch I used the gas grill to make ginormous burgers. I didn't want him to be famished when evening rolled around because booze on an empty stomach hits hardest, fastest. We got back in the evening from riding ATV trails. I unlocked the fridge & there were about 25 little single shot bottles in the butter space. He grabbed 7 randomly. I took 3 with the intent to use 1, maybe 2.  Dan the man "need to prove my manliness" ... took each of his and read the label out loud before twisting the cap off & single-shot downing it. I stopped him on the 6th & insisted we toast to "Friends, fun & the future forever...".   He asked, "You believe in forever?"
I answered: "I do. And it means that what we do in life matters."