Yesterday, I was speaking to a friend who is at crossroads in his life. I wouldn’t quite use the term dire straits. It is simply not quite that serious. Then again, it’s also not as much of superficial ‘first world problem’ like complaining that you can’t decide between the iPhone 5 and Samsung S3 on the renewal on your mobile phone contract. If that is the top of your priorities at the moment, I can immediately assure you that you are better off than most. I will not betray my loyalty to a friend and turn this into the back section of Heat magazine, however what I will tell you is that it got me thinking about a topic which we have all been exposed to at one point in our life – love.
The love I speak of here is not necessarily the love which bonds two individuals, although this is most probably the love which most people are familiar with. The love I speak of can be between anyone and anything. That is the beauty of love, it means something different to each and every single one of us. No one can quite say what is right, not what is wrong in defining love (even though many may try).
Love has many characteristics too, different for all of us. Yet, I imagine that society and traditional beliefs have already cast a common denominator across the playing field to lead us in a certain direction. I know I’m not exactly winning a Nobel prize with a controversial statement there, love is indeed one of the most subjective topics known to mankind.
Personally, I have some views which share the common perception of love, and some which do not. The perception which I have which does not follow conventional beliefs is that love does not need to be carved in stone in order to be ‘real’! To me (with the risk of sounding like an overly zealous, hedonistic constituent of the French bourgeoisie), when you love someone or something, it can be exactly that. No further lengthy contracts of what conditions need to be adhered to. Perhaps this is more closely linked to ‘passion’?
To me, if it feels like love for a decade, a month, a day, or a minute; then so be it, it is exactly that. Love is after all, also intrinsic. To me this is okay. It does not to be justified by anyone else. I rather feel love and passion (regardless of the time frame) than not feel it at all. I have never in my life read that, “in order for a feeling or emotion to be considered as love, then feelings need to extend for an elapse period of time which is the equivalent to X or else will be consider to be the lesser form - infatuation.” It is said that Love changes everything; it would be difficult to dispute this entirely. Perhaps, we could also just simply say “Love changes.”
Love is one of the few resources in life which are truly unlimited and defy all laws of science and mathematics. Love does not become less when shared or divided, on the contrary – it is multiplied and flourishes to become more. This is not something which is going to be explained in a textbook or scientific hypothesis. However, this is the crux and difference – love does not need to be understood nor uniform. Love merely needs to be shown.
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