"La vita e bella; la vita e amore. -- Life is beautiful; life is love."
from the movie "Life Is Beautiful"
Love is basically indescribable but, there have been many attempts to try and describe love. Love is patient, love is kind. Love is caring. Love is when a sacrifice doesn't feel like one. Love is compassionate and understanding. When you can't stop smiling. When you don't want to go to sleep because how could your dreams be better. When you heart beats fast. Makes you want to be a better person. Intense devotion. Love is passion. Love is wanting nothing more than to make the other person truly happy. You would rather spend time missing them then being with someone else. Trusting another person completely. Love is described as friendship on fire. Love is risk. When you accept someone completely. Love has depth, it's not a flat concept. There are many dimensions. I have created three dimensions. 
1. Physical/Sensual
People can't help it, we like to be touched, it feels good to be next to the person you are attracted to. The physical part of love is probably the one that is the most fun. Gives you those butterflies and gitty sensation every time you see them, wanting to be next to them. You make excuses to see them and be around them. It can also be a real deal breaker in a relationship, if there isn't that physical attraction then it just doesn't work. It's kind of like a car, a beautiful sports car with a great engine and has all the equipment needed for a great car but, it's not your type of car, then there's not petrol in the tank and that car can't go anywhere. And the ride isn't very enjoyable.
Although this part of the relationship is important it shouldn't be the foundation of the relationship. Relationships that are primarily centered on this have the tendency to last short amounts of time. Physical attraction can only last so long. Physical gets the first tank of gas going but in order to make it to the next station other parts of love are needed. Without it it's going to be a short trip and you'll both be stranded in the desert. Don't just base your relationship on this, all the dimensions are needed.
2.Mental
Trust. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. How can you love someone if you can't trust them. Part of love is having that deep connection. That ability to feel comfortable to tell the other anything. That despite your faults they still want to be with you. Love is compassionate and understanding.
Yes, I think that you do run the risk of being hurt, but that comes along with the territory of being in love. You are taking that risk that you could be hurt. They could betray your trust, but they could also never betray your trust. Think of Aladdin when he asks Princess Jasmine, "Do you trust me?" You don't know what the future holds, trusting is all you can do. Sometimes life can take you to unexpected but wonderful places.
"The hardest thing is loving someone and having the courage to let them love you back."
Respect. This isn't one that people think of when they think of love. But when you love someone you respect them. You aren't always going to agree with the person you love. There will be things that will result in disagreements.
Respect is especially important for women to understand. While women need love, men need respect. This is a hard concept to grasp and can sometimes be difficult to show. I think that it involves assessing the situation and then acting. Understanding that there are two different people involved and won't have the same views on everything. But being able to understand where they are coming from and speaking without harsh words or in an condescending tone. Here's an example: My Uncle loves to go hunting and for a long time my Aunt had a hard time understanding his point because it costs more to hunt for your own food. (My uncle's brother has a meat shop.) And yet she respected him and that it was something that he enjoyed. Later she just had to have the mentality that it was for entertainment purposes not for saving money.
Men and women are different, for good reason. To understand the other gender requires patience, a desire to understand and accepting that it may be something that they enjoy or feel strongly about. Sometimes you can't agree and you have to just shrug your shoulders and realize that you love them more than this silly agreement.
3. Emotional: The part of love that comes from your heart.
Caring is the type of love that girls love. We just eat it up. This type of love requires an attentiveness. Paying attention when they say they like something (or don't like something.) When they say their favorite cheesecake is pumpkin cheesecake and you surprise them with some pumpkin cheesecake. Caring about how they feel, whether they are having a bad day or are stressed out and thinking about how you can help them feel better.
This type of love is amazing because it is just the little things, things for no reason except to show them how you feel. I actually really enjoy expressing how I feel in this manner. I enjoy showing them I have paid attention and that I took the time an effort to do something for no reason, just because. And to use my creativity to do it. One of the best gifts I ever received from a boy was a song. He wrote the lyrics, composed the music, sang the song and played all the instruments. (All were recorded separately and then layered.) Much time and effort was put into this to express to me how he felt. 
Unconditional: I think that this the purest form of love. It transcends all, from race and gender, to class and religion, to physical appearance and occupation. Giving of your love and not asking for anything in return. Accepting a person for exactly who they are with their faults and loving them in spite of them. This type of love is also not determined by the recipient having mutual feelings. There once was a Uncle named Iroh and he had a nephew that was trying gain back the honor that he had lost from his Father. Iroh's nephew was struggling to find himself. And through his journey he said many cruel things to his uncle. Yet, his uncle just showed him kindness and understanding. In the end he left his Uncle, he thought that he found his way. But he soon learned that he hadn't. When he finally found his way back to his uncle, his uncle welcomed him back
Selflessness
This is a wonderful type of love. Just think about it, how amazing is it to have someone put you before themselves. In Beauty and the Beast, there is a scene where the Beast shows Belle the magic mirror and says that she can see anything she wants. She wishes to see her Father and sees that she is in danger. The Beast looks at the wilting, his time to turn back into a human again was running out. But, he surprises Belle and tells her to leave. He gave up what he thought was his only chance to be human again. And when asked why he let her go he said, "because I love her" 
Friendship/Platonic
A totally different type of love. This one involves mostly caring and selflessness. The notion that you would do anything for your family. Or anything for those close friends. This is the comfort food of love. When life seems tough and you need someone, friends and family are your comfort food.
Love is amazing, there really is no other feeling that can duplicate it.
Love can be simple. I think that being in love is when your heart and your mind are in agreement.