meditation and love

 What is the relationship between Buddhist meditation and loving thoughts? Does meditation make a person more loving toward others? This question interests me, because I hardly hear that many Buddhist discussions on "love" per se, at least not in the sense that it is talked about in popular cultures. Most monastic teachers focus more on qualities such as karuna (compassion) and moral uprightness (sila), or wisdom (prajna). And yet I have often heard the question, does a person need to supplement meditation with other practices, such as loving kindness or devotional practice? Again, the questions are interesting, and they touch upon what it means to meditate. Is meditation designed to 'create' certain socially favorable  emotions such as love?
     Just today, I was in a shopping mall before heading to the gym, and I saw a lady who was apparently in a lot of distress outside a chocolate store. I could tell even from a distance that there was an argument of some sort, because one man's body language was quite stiff. The lady was talking to another lady, presumably the store manager, and acting as though the man wasn't even there. As I approached closer, I could hear the woman saying that the man had made her feel confused. I felt the emotion coming from in myself, and the awkwardness of the situation. I even began to wonder: is this kind of complaint so necessary on a festive occasion such as a Christmas-themed chocolate store? But I knew that this was my own judgment about a situation of which I knew nothing. And yet, there were still feelings of pity arising. Inside me, there was a still a thought of wanting things to be more harmonious. In any case, it didn't stop the woman from going back into the store and continuing her chocolate shopping. And I guess life went on as planned.
     The point of my example is that it gave me pause to reflect. I wonder, what exactly does loving 'response' look like, and what does it mean to love in this context of these very different people, having very different experiences? I can't honestly say what would be the best action to take so that everyone here feels loved or attended to, and perhaps it isn't anyone's job to do so. For example, if I decide that I am going to be more loving to the lady who is complaining, what might that mean for the man who apparently confused her? And vice versa? Would being loving toward one person simply be preferential and biased? From a more holistic perspective, one might also ask: is love the only thing to consider when faced with conflict and complex situations?
     I believe that in many cultures, love and 'positive emotions' are considered to be curative of many complex ailments. People believe that if only they are able to feel love, or joy, then the things around them will be okay,or at least look okay from their perspective. But even that feeling is only arising from a perspective, my own. I wouldn't necessarily be able to speak for the others. That is why I am hesitant to say that love is going to heal all things. After all, whose love heals? And who gets love in these situations? Who is more entitled to be given love? Who assigns value to who gets love? These are all complex questions which require wisdom more than anything...and experience, of course.
    I don't believe that meditative practices are necessarily designed so that one becomes 'more' of one thing or another. It perhaps has more to do with an attitude of being truly open to what this current moment offers. From this perspective, it doesn't matter what kinds of states or emotions arise; they could be angry or confused, or sad, or regretful even. But if I stay with it and don't reject any of this experience, or myself, or whatever...if I really embrace who I am in that moment, and accept others as part of the mind in that moment...then I am not trying to gain any particular state of being. It is more like a garden where I see so many beautiful flowers. Each one has a very different smell, look, feel. Why reject one because it doesn't look like the other? Why say the violet is less than the rose when they are both making the garden in that moment? This broader view gives me the space to accept fully what is happening, without making that mistake of trying to gain some quality or another.
    I cannot guarantee that even this attitude of total acceptance is going to make me more loving or even more appealing as a person. But this attitude yields more surprises and insights than it would if I were to simply tell myself to be more loving or change the way I am thinking and feeling. In that sense, life becomes more interesting and fertile when I am open to whatever is emerging,and fully accept it.