Let me tell you a little something about love.
Love is something that everyone craves and desires. As humans, we go through our days wondering what the meaning of life is, and what our specific purpose is. We crave something that makes us meaningful, that makes our individual existence meaningful. Some people will find their purpose and will be in the history books for centuries to come. Some will be heroes, whose stories are passed down until they turn into legends. Some will live in infamy and find satisfaction in knowing that are feared. But most of us will not make it into history, legends or bed-time stories for the future generations. Most of us will have normal and quiet lives. For those of you that are like me, with your normal and quiet life, we just want to make some kind of an impact in the world. We want to leave something behind too. Something great. That something great that we leave behind is love. Love is passed down through the generations. Our parents taught us how to love; by loving each other and by loving us. The way that their parents taught them, and their parents taught them. We then go out into the world to search for the love that our parents have with each other. We dream of that kind of love, watch movies about it, read about it, fantasize about it. And when you are blessed with finding that kind of love in another person, you and they will grow together, strengthening one another and protecting one another. Then, If and when you and your sweetheart have a child, you will love that child like you were taught to love by your parents and their parents before them. Then your baby will find their partner and will pass the love you shared with them on to their children. Love is fluid. It moves through us and around us, regardless of whether or not we realize it. Our meaning in life is to love and be loved. We all know that this is our innate desire. Love.
Love is beautiful. Love is painful. Love takes labor. Love takes patience.
Love takes sacrifice.
Think about that for a moment. No, really. Think. You have heard this before. True love is not what you see in movies. It is not that moment of epiphany where you realize you are happy with that person. It is not going out on dates or wanting to spend all your free time talking to that one 'special' person. It is not the warm feeling you get in your stomach when you're kissing them. It's not even the rush of feelings during sex. These things are signs of affection that may stem from love, but do not signify true love. True love is when a boyfriend stays up all night in a hospital, sitting next to his sick girlfriend, just so she wouldn't have to be alone. Or when he's quietly cradling her as she sobs from the stress of losing a family member. When parents take that extra shift, or that extra job, just so they can put enough money together to get their daughter that new bike, or afford their son's guitar lessons just because they know it will make their child happy. When a guy drives three hours at 1 am to get his best friend after her car broke down in an unfamiliar city because he was more concerned about her safety than his sleep. Love shows itself in many forms, whether in silence actions or spoken words. But its purest form comes out in difficult and trying times.
Are you starting to get the idea now? Yes? Good. Now keep that definition in the back of your mind as I tell you these stories. Use your better judgment to distinguish the difference between someone that only tells you they love you and someone who actually does truly love you. You never know, you might need to reconsider relationships in your life later on. But for now, let's practice with these.
Ready? Let's begin.