How Do You Define Love?

The older I grow, the more experience I gain, the more I realize that I haven't a clue when it comes to this question. I don't know about you, but for me personally, I've held a sort of 'vision', at least partially, in my head for many years as to how he'd look , act, and be. I'm a sucker for a chick flick with a happily-ever-after ending. He's tall, handsome, employed, sure of himself, knows where he's going. His kids are grown and he has a great relationship with them. He owns his home, is financially stable, wants to travel,  believes there is a Creator, and most importantly sees past the shell of who I am to the inner beauty of the me I don't often let others see.
Wow! I fell in love as I wrote that! What I am coming to understand is that I have set a goal so lofty, so perfect, that I could miss the real man who might stumble in to my life, completely unexpected, and knock me for a loop. The man who could see my fears, my shortcomings, my insecurities, and be attracted anyway. Sadly, as I look at my supposed list, I see it as all surface. That is exactly what I've accused men of...not seeing beyond the outside!
I'm beginning to see that love, at its very core, is the meeting of two like minds who feed off each other, are willing to accept character flaws, imperfections, limitations, and see clear through to the deepest part of the other person. Its basis is knowing that someone else's existence matters immensely to you, and that that person was possibly put on this earth to find you, love you in all your imperfection, and believe in you completely.
The one and only thing I can be completely sure of is that it looks different for each and every person, and that sometimes, it sneaks up on you from the most outrageous place when you are totally unprepared for it.
I know this one thing...and I've said it from the very beginning of this odyssey. I'd go anywhere to find it. Nowhere is too far away if it's the real thing. When I find it, I hope those who know me personally will be happy for me. Some will be, others won't. I can't control that, nor would I even want to begin to try.
I believe real, deep, complete love wants more for the other than the love-r could possibly furnish on their own. It strives always for the best, believes the best, hopes the best, endures the worst. (My take on I Corinthians, 13) It continues to love when it seems all hope is lost, and it trusts implicitly. It takes the time, spends the time, uses the time it's given to the betterment of the one loved.
Love is-consistency, patience, pleasure, deep understanding, and completely beyond our grasp until we let go. Until we just surrender to it. Believe in it. Succumb to its influence. It can mold us, shape us, transform us, but only when we surrender to our inability to stop its affect on us. It is a feeling, but it is much more an act of our will. We choose to love or, we choose not to love. When we encounter it, full force, unfettered... resistance is futile! It draws us like a moth to a flame, and we begin to understand that while our wing tips might get singed, it is also possible that the endeavor could be totally worth the risk!