Through my years of experience I repeatedly convinced myself that I am finally starting to understand it all. I’m finally getting a grip on comprehending the tug of war that life has to offer. But with each new experience I am reminded that we never stop learning. We never stop growing no matter how old we grow.
Among people of all ages, the concept of love is by far the most misunderstood of all the human emotions. Perhaps love is not really an emotion at all. Too often we think that love only constitutes the way we feel. But truly loving someone goes far beyond the boundaries of simple emotions. The way we feel only matters to us. The only thing that really matters is what we do to the people we love.
The line between truly loving someone and simply feeling an emotion is a thin wire that all of our relationships balance on. Since coming to terms with this realization I have increasingly noticed what a self-centered concept of love the majority of young people have. Is love not ultimately the gift of yourself? Truly loving someone means putting their needs, their desires and their wellbeing at the same level, if not above your own.
It’s easy to love someone. It’s simple to accept the feeling in your heart and say the words. The real challenge resides in the mundane, in the routines we go through every day. Loving someone is the easy part. Behaving like you love that person is what takes work. Before we pick the needless fight, before we tune out instead of listening to their problems, before we let our annoyances predict our actions we must stop and ask ourselves, “Am I showing this person that I love them?”
Ladies, before you criticize him for calling you 30 minutes later than when he said he would, stop and think for a second. Instead of immediately looking towards the negative, acknowledge the positive and remind yourself that he wouldn’t call you unless he wanted to talk to youeven if it is 30 minutes late.
And guys, before you get frustrated with waiting for her to get ready, stop and think. She wouldn’t change her top 15 times if she didn’t care to look her best for you. So before losing your patience, remind yourself that you’re lucky to have a girl that takes three hours to get ready just to go out with you.
We must learn the difference between the emotion of love and the action of love. One can exist without the other, but no love will survive unless the two coincide every day. This pertains not only to our romantic relationships, but to our bonds with family and friends as well. We must learn that putting ourselves aside for a bit and really trying to understand someone else will not make us weak-minded.
When we truly understand and learn to sympathize with others, we become stronger within ourselves. We must remember that by putting ourselves aside, we are not allowing ourselves to be walked upon, but we are walking hand in hand with one another.