the idea of forming a unit of family and the larger identities of community, nation and whatever else is simply to find a space where you can keep your defense mechanism down and just be in a certain sense of ease, because only in that ease the other possibility will find expression; otherwise, you will be just like an animal, constantly trying to survive – preserve yourself. So, love is seen as a possibility to go beyond that instinct of self-preservation, where you are not trying to preserve yourself, you are trying to offer yourself to something or somebody. For that you don't need a person, you can just do it simply with life.
建立家庭单元和更大的社区、国家和其他的身份认同的想法都是为了找到一个空间。在这里你可以放下自己的防御机制，只是处于一种轻松自在中。因为只有在轻松自在中，其他的可能性才会得以表达，否则你只会像一只动物——不断试图生存——保护自己。所以，爱被视为超越自我保护本能的可能性，在这里你不再试图保护自己，你在试图将自己奉献给其他的人或事。为此，你不需要一个人，对生命本身就可以这样做。
这段话让我联想到了马斯洛的需求层次理论，关于人最底层的需求生存需求。人们为什么都寻找爱，因为在爱里人们会产生一种能够让自己卸下本能的防御机制的放松感，如果没有这种放松感人活得就像动物一样，总是处于一种本能的自我保护中，跨越了这个底层需求后，人才有可能将自身服务于他人或者某些事情，就是来到价值层面。然而你其实并不一定需要这样的一个人，和你产生爱，才能跨越这个自我保护本能和生存需求，对生命本身就可以这样。
keep your defense mechanism down and just be in a certain sense of ease。
Create such a space for yourself.
Don't seek everything in love.
