What is this thing we call love?

I was having a discussion with my friend the other day about what love is. Don't ask how we got there but we did! We were having a hard time defining what being in love meant, I mean yes you want to be with the person all the time, and you feel butterflies when you are around them...all that is great and we all want that but why do you love one person but not the other? What makes us say this guy is not just a close friend? What is it that makes you feel differently about a guy who's a really close good friend and another guy who you are IN LOVE with? The difference may be obvious but when you ask people what its like hanging out with a real close girlfriend or boyfriend, and what it's like to hang out with a really close friend, you find alot of similar descriptions...which means a boyfriend is technically a close friend but with something extra. What is that extra? Well...it can be a physical attraction, it can be an intellectual connection, it can be an unexplainable chemistry that you just feel...it can be many things. I was discussing this with a guy friend of mine and for him he actually prefers the physical attraction to come much later and that he likes to just feel the cute butterflies and shyness in the beginning, and that those cute romantic feelings, that don't necessaryly involve physical attraction, is enough to make him decide that this girl is more than just a friend. That's one way of looking at it...others would say no way! It's the physical attraction that makes them consider a girl as more than a friend even if its as innocent as just wanting to hold her hand. Then there are others again who say no...if the person in front of me is drop dead gorgeous and I'm physically attracted to him but cant share my deepest thoughts and all the boring details of my day with him then it's just not love...its pure lust. Hmmm so its gets more and more complicated as you think about it and you start questioning your own definition of love...is my definition too naive and too fairytale-like? Or is my definition too practical and unromantic? My definition of what love is is kinda a mix of all the above. For me, if I love hanging out with the guy, love talking about anything with the guy, love doing the normal daily stuff with him, etc then for me that's love because I would feel I wouldn't need anyone else in my life really. I mean even with your friends now, you have friends who you go clubbing with but whom you'd never wanted to be deserted on an island with...and other friends who you can turn to when you are really upset but whom you don't have fun with in parties. With the guy I love, if we do anything I'm happy and content. That of course does not mean that I would desert all my friends for the guy, I dont like it when girls/guys do that. I'm pro couples having common friends as well as their own separate friends. But what I mean is whether you are sitting having your morning coffee together, or siteseeing together in a foreign country, or socializing with friends at a huge gathering, you are having fun with your partner. For me that's the difference...I wouldnt get bored of being with the guy I love. As for physical appearances and attractions, this may sound like a cliche but for me a guy who I really enjoy being around would be very attractive to me even if he seems to be plain to others. This is something many others agree on actually...you can see a drop dead gorgeous girl but totally dislike her personality so would start wondering how the hell you found her attractive to begin with. Or vice versa...seeing a normal looking girl but after realizing how much you adore hanging out with her, she becomes the most attractive girl you have ever seen...I think this is because you start seeing the really cute things about the person, and you just become happier when you see the person, so their attractiveness jumps up! So, a person you love, according to me, is in essence a best friend who is attractive to you and whom you want to have physical contact with BECAUSE you love him/her. He/she is the most attractive person in the room to you because you love him/her, and that's how you know the difference between a person you love and just a close friend. Brad Pitt could be there in the room too but you wouldnt even notice him! (If you can imagine that haha) This discussion about what love is hard to end with a concrete conclusion that applies to everyone because its so relative and so intangible but what is for sure is everyone wants to feel it and have it in their lives. Nothing makes us feel as wonderful as we do when we hear the words "I LOVE YOU".