Love Has Many Faces
You know what they say, “Love makes the world go round.” “Love is a many splendored thing.” “All you need is Love.” “Tis better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.” It’s clear that Love has many faces, meanings and interpretations. The bards have spent countless ink and candle wax deciphering the secret code of love. Songwriters have made a living on love. Dr. Suess says “You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” He must be serious, because nothing in that quote rhymed! Love can create agony and ecstasy. Love can be crazy, wild and yet calmly comforting. It is safe to say, Love has multiple-personality syndrome. Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being A Wallflower, says “We accept the love we think we deserve.” So our ability to love someone else, starts with how much we love ourselves. So true, so true. Self love does not have to be narcisitic, just a strong sense of self. A confident person is more likely to attract a confident relationship with self-assured love. We all experience love at our own pace, in our own time and by our own rules. No matter the experience, the rationale or the expert advice, Love is often in charge and we follow Love’s lead like moths to a candle. “It’s so beautiful.” And yet there does seem to be someone for everyone. Bob Marley says, “Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.” And so we do love hard, fall hard, and sometimes it takes the heart years to overcome love lost. Why do some people get over lost love so much easier than others? Some people burn the candle for a dysfunctional length of time. Perhaps that is the part of Love that is caustic. Love sinks a barb into you and never lets go. “In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” writes Jane Austen in Pride And Prejudice. As painful as love can be, it also can lift us up to the highest peaks of pleasure. Married people live longer than single people. Lovers smile more hours per day. Mahatma Gandhi said “Where there is love there is life.” And so it is. Love is the blueprint of life. From the time we are born we love. We are nurtured and therefore nurture. We are loved and therefore love. But we must also try to realize the nature of love. Love is not stone. Albert Einstein said, “Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.” And sometimes we must take a chance with love and see if love’s measure is true. Kahil Gibran said, “If you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don’t, they never were.” Easier said than done Kahil. Love helps to build us up and break us down. Perhaps this balance that love creates is good for our soul and our psyche. Lady Gaga says, “Love is like a brick. You can build a house, or you can sink a dead body.” One thing we know, Love is fickle and folly at times. And yet we continue to seek it out like an oasis in the desert. Truth is, we live to love and be loved. It’s the hardest thing to master and easiest thing to misplace. And yet sometimes it’s right before us hidden by anger or ignorance. There is no greater words to hear than, “I love you.” Perhaps we don’t say it enough to those we love. And to those who are still waiting to hear it. Paul Simon says, “Some people never say the words ‘I love you’, for like a child they’re longing to be told.” Tell someone you love them and start the Love train rolling. Your seat is reserved, so get onboard!
Love Ya! J.B. Lester; Publisher