What Is Love?
I was reading a comment on another post, and someone said, "it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all." That got me thinking, is that really true? I guess to answer that you have to ask what is love anyways? That is a very personal question. Love is different for each individual, so I can only speak of my own opinions formed by my experiences and philosophical musings in my life, so maybe what I am about to say may not apply to everyone, but to me it makes sense.
I think the band Nazareth was right when they sang, "love hurts"! (To be fair it was actually The Everly Brothers, and Roy Orbison back in 1960 that first sang this song, but Nazareth made it popular, however I digress) Love does hurt. When you love someone, truly love them, you accept them for who they are, imperfections and all. You unconditionally forgive them for the times they let you down. You look over their faults. You are willing to give up anything for their happiness. You would sacrifice anything just to see them smile. Even dying for them would be a pleasure and a privledge just so long as they are safe. To me that is exactly what love is, the willingness to endure pain, and to sacrifice just to be with them. It is a purly altruistic and selfless thing, and though sometimes it hurts, it is the greatest joy.
That in itself is a great experiance, one in which all people should feel, the idea of living, and posibly suffering for another. However, how many of us have been in love to that extent, and not have it returned? The disapointment, the depression, the feelings of nothingness when that happens is the greatest sorrow. I do not wish that upon anyone.
So the question remains, is it better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? Perhaps. But I prefer to go beyond that. How much better is it to BE loved? To love someone and have them return it is what life is about. And you know what? I would rather be loved by someone, even if for only a moment and lose it forever, than to never have experianced it. Knowing that you love someone and they love you back is without doubt the greatest feeling. And yes when that love is over, when something comes between that, wheather it be death or distance or anything else, the pain of losing is tremendous. But the experiance, the knowledge that someone, even if for a short period of time was willing to go through the same pain as you would for them, makes the loss a little bit more bearable. Even though it is lost, that love will live on forever in your soul.
So yes, it is better to have loved, and be loved in return, and lose it all, than to never exeriance it at all.
I think the band Nazareth was right when they sang, "love hurts"! (To be fair it was actually The Everly Brothers, and Roy Orbison back in 1960 that first sang this song, but Nazareth made it popular, however I digress) Love does hurt. When you love someone, truly love them, you accept them for who they are, imperfections and all. You unconditionally forgive them for the times they let you down. You look over their faults. You are willing to give up anything for their happiness. You would sacrifice anything just to see them smile. Even dying for them would be a pleasure and a privledge just so long as they are safe. To me that is exactly what love is, the willingness to endure pain, and to sacrifice just to be with them. It is a purly altruistic and selfless thing, and though sometimes it hurts, it is the greatest joy.
That in itself is a great experiance, one in which all people should feel, the idea of living, and posibly suffering for another. However, how many of us have been in love to that extent, and not have it returned? The disapointment, the depression, the feelings of nothingness when that happens is the greatest sorrow. I do not wish that upon anyone.
So the question remains, is it better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? Perhaps. But I prefer to go beyond that. How much better is it to BE loved? To love someone and have them return it is what life is about. And you know what? I would rather be loved by someone, even if for only a moment and lose it forever, than to never have experianced it. Knowing that you love someone and they love you back is without doubt the greatest feeling. And yes when that love is over, when something comes between that, wheather it be death or distance or anything else, the pain of losing is tremendous. But the experiance, the knowledge that someone, even if for a short period of time was willing to go through the same pain as you would for them, makes the loss a little bit more bearable. Even though it is lost, that love will live on forever in your soul.
So yes, it is better to have loved, and be loved in return, and lose it all, than to never exeriance it at all.
posted by The Cube at 7:37 PM
3 Comments:
HHHmmmmm. I pose a question to you. Can you ever really stop loving someone? What I mean is was the love real to begin with if you stopped? How can you be willing to bear anything for someone and then just change your mind? Sometimes I think maybe people play along and just think that they are in love.
wow, i'm a little behind in my comments due to the craziness of life; but i would like to contribute. :)
love is the greatest thing in the world. when we love (even if we lose that love), we are finding a part of ourselves that has never before been realized. we are reaching heights we only dream of.
love is something we should treasure. 1 corinthians 13 has more to say than i, of course. :)
Wow. That is a good question. I don't think you can ever stop loving someone. In order to truely love someone, you give up a little bit of yourself, and they fill that portion up. In a way they become a part of you. Now it is true, time and unforseen occurances befall us all, and people we love may leave or lives, but that little part of them, always remains, deep down inside. Of course what most people think is love, is mearly lust, and that can come and go.
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