What's love got to do with it?

Ahhh the age old question. What is love? Does anyone really know...or is it different for everyone? Is it the "I can't stop thinking about you, want to be with you all the time, happy just to hear you breathe on the other end of the phone" feeling? Is it great sex and undeniable passion? Is it compatible thoughts, values, lifestyles? Is it the laughter and mutual appreciation of each other,not only for your similarities but also for your differences? Is it that comfortable feeling of years spent together, companionship and knowledge of the other person? Is it all of the above? And do we as humans have the capacity to love many people or is there really only one person out there for each of us? Also if love doesn't last does that mean it was never love at all? Is that belief the one thing that holds us back? Do we fear the feelings above because we believe they lied to us before? Maybe there are so many kinds of love, some that last and some that are with us only for a short time. Maybe if we thought of love that way we wouldn't fear it, we wouldn't hold the end result so close if we made an effort to appreciate the beginnings?
I'll admit, I fear love, the effect it can have on you, the pain when it goes away, but there are people who have held on to it forever. Who maybe had times when it wasn't as strong but were strong enough to wait it out, knowing it would return to them. If we don't take that chance in loving someone are we risking the life time loss of that never ending love?
Romance novels always have a happily ever after. We love them because of it. As humans we are in love with the idea of love but fear the act of loving another. If we just decided to love each other. To check our baggage at the door every time we had the opportunity would we be better for it?
I believe we probably would.