Keys of Love: (Open Doors)

By Artemis Skye McNeil

Ah love! It ignites fires in hearts and flutters butterflies in bellies of the smitten world over. It flushes many a young girl's cheek...even grown men break out in song when love is uttered from their lips. It drives our existence from romance, to parenting, friendship, and even purpose in life.

Margaret Atwood stated, "The Eskimo have &

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing Group
• Release date: Feb 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781641117746

Artemis Skye McNeil

Artemis is a Greek-American author, motivational speaker, and poet. She has an undeterred love for life, words, the arts, and helping others. She speaks to youth on body image issues, peer pressure, bullying, social awareness, and goal setting. Founder of The Happiness Habit, she raises awareness on the effect of non-imposing positive affirmations, and mindful habits that raise quality of life and goals. She currently lives in Atlanta with her husband and future dogs T-Bone and Tofu.

Book preview

Introduction

Four letter word

"Love is just a four letter word,

until we breathe our hearts into it."-Artemis

Love…ah love; such a splendiferous sentiment. It ignites fires in hearts and flutters butterflies in bellies of the smitten world over. It flushes many a young girl’s cheek (and not so young); even grown men break out in song when love is uttered from their lips. It bleeds dry pens and saturates pillows. It finishes off ice cream cartons and drains whiskey bottles. It pines and whines, then rejoices again!

Love drives our existence, and not just for romancing. It is the motivating force behind friendship, art, parenting, protecting, nurturing, discovering, connecting, and in finding purpose (to hardly scratch the surface), yet the word that is always used is well, Love.

The word itself is an evocative, passion filled, multi-layered expression used and used and used and frankly extremely overused, dare I say, daily.

The I love you shared between friends is different than the one cooed from a mother to its infant, or dreamily spoken in the intimacy of romance.

Then there’s a whole array of other loves:

I love ice cream.

I love the energy of this place.

"I love the way the sun casts shadows through this building’s architecture.

I love it when I see two kittens playing.

I love that I got an extension on my tax return.

I love this movie, this song, this book.

You get the point.

I love you, Love ya, Love it; all express our feelings—all vastly different all the same L word.

Margaret Atwood stated, "The Eskimo have fifty-two names for snowi because it is important to them; there ought to be as many for love." Alas, in the English language there is only one.

How utterly absurd, when this comely word of endearment expresses so many forms of strong emotional bonds or connections to another.

However, in the Greek language, there are four words that denote love, yes four:ii each wonderfully specific and identifiable in purpose and intention.

These four (Storge, Philia, Eros, Agape) are key in conveying the various loves which impact us significantly and uniquely in all aspects of our lives.

These four words are key in expressing the nuance of each Love which impacts context significantly and appropriately.

As a Greek-American writer, poet, and editor, fascinated with words and etymology in both languages, as well as an avid reader of great literature and Scripture where these four poetic terms for love originate (and are used extensively); I have had a long standing desire to elaborate on this subject and expound on these loves.

This was the concept behind my longstanding and well received inspirational poetic series by the same name. It is the motivation in this literally full of love literary piece.

The purpose of this book is not to delve into the philosophy or in depth discussion of each of the Greek terms and spiritual definitions in their totality. This fascinating subject could be exhausted at length, as has been done in the past by C.S. Lewis, as well as Greek Philosophers and bible scholars. Keys of Love takes a poetic, aphoristic, and prescriptive look into these Greek expressions that breathe new life into this hackneyed word and incredible gift of love itself.

Poetry is a powerful tool that gifts us the beauty of words which transforms into awareness, inspiration, gratitude, and goal setting. They graciously promote an enhanced way of thinking and feeling.

I hope that you will draw from the beauty and complexity of these Greek terms as they weave their way in and out of everyday speech, emotions, relationships, and affairs of life.