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January 18, 2008
How Beautiful Love Can Be
We've all experienced it, so we know it to be true, but I'm going to go ahead and say it one more time. Love is hard. I know I'm not revealing any kind of big secret, but it's important sometimes to sit back and think about how beautiful love can be if one puts the effort that's required into making it work. My father used to say, "It's better to love someone than to be in love with them. Better for both of you." These days I think that I understand what he means. There is a difference between being in love with someone and loving them, as funny as that may sound. It's not that sugary feeling that one gets, that feeling that's like eating a box of chocolates, that makes love last. It's effort. Whether you've just met someone through dating personals or have been with them for years, the only way to make a relationship last longer than the end of today is to put in some hard work.
Now, I'm not a relationship guru or anything remotely similar. I have had some experience with this, however. Recently, I've been wondering how people who have never lost love can fully appreciate what love is. For me, it's been a lesson that's been learned the hard way. That's okay with me, because I'm a big believer in claiming one's experiences as one's own and celebrating how that makes us who we are. I've had to experience a lot of disappointment along with some beautiful love, but I have no regrets. I'm not the only one, of course. There are many out there who've realized how hard love can be, regardless of whether true love is or isn't. How blind love can be when it should see all, regardless of the cliche. Those of us who have been through these experiences are those who can offer the most in a relationship, because we know now what it takes. Every time we fall down, we become that much stronger when we get back up again.
Nobody knows all about love, but it's one heck of a lot of fun finding out. Even the frustration, disillusionment and regret we experience can, at the end of the day, be the catalyst that helps us to see more about how to love ourselves and those around us than we had ever thought possible. We know that simply saying, "I love you," is not enough. We have to show someone we love them. It's like anything else in life. I could say I'm a cowboy, but until I put on the hat and get up on a horse, it's not going to be true. With hard work comes great reward and if you put hard work into making beautiful love, I guarantee you're going to get it coming back to you with the same intensity, if not more.
Posted by MarkJohn at January 18, 2008 10:23 AM
