I am not one to be easily swooned and have my heart taken.
In fact, romantic interests have always been somewhat messy for me, some kind of drama I get entangled with from the guy's possessive ex lingering in the background to prevent any chance for love to blossom. And yet, because of my love experiences with romantic interests and all the challenging dynamics it involved, I have learned so much about unconditional love, friendship, romance, intimacy, vulnerability, the pain of heartbreak, jealousies, insecurities, faith, courage, and ultimately: self-love.
We are often infatuated and obsessed with Love. We all long for it, desire it, and hope on it. We daydream of that great love that comes to sweep us off our feet as The One. We're in love with love, and yet, when it comes to those great, BIG loves that doesn't look the way society paints it - we break it down, judge it, and become fascinated to tear it apart with scrutiny.
Those great loves we read about in history and swoon over, have us hoping that one day someone will love us so deeply that it takes some tragic, sacrificial death to solidify how real it truly was. Yet, the reality is that such a love is often plagued by societal pressures that lead to such a tragic ending all because of a clash in differing social and economic status, families butting heads, or perhaps even misunderstanding such a love that is not founded in the romantic sense. Great Loves go through such judgmental hells that can cause separation and secrecy that divide rather than celebrated and honored openly to unify.
Romeo and Juliet.. Forbidden love, families at war. Pride & Prejudice.. Social Class-shing, marrying for security, woman's worth, wealth, and status dependent on a suitable marriage. Devdas.. childhood sweethearts, parted by adulthood and families determining their paths. Pride and heartbreak ruling their actions that led to the demise of the other.
True Love battling against the world and despite the odds, simply - to be together. The timeless classic of two lovers who travel worlds apart just to find one another again, and again.. and again. Lifetime after lifetime. Demolishing roadblock after roadblock to find their way back to one another. Married in heart and soul for all eternity. Choosing one another as The One.
THE GROWTH
I have experienced some really beautiful experiences and glimpses of the many types of love, and ranging from the span of many years, to even just momentary. There are more, deeper, more profound kinds of love than just the romantic kind that movies are made of.
In having my eye so zoomed in on romantic love, I somehow zoomed out to eye a greater depth of love.
I have found that the greatest of Great Loves is the kind that loves you to the moon and back, and then bringing the moon back for you - stretching as far as they can to give you everything they possibly can to make you happy - just to see you light up.
As romantic as it would be, this kind of love is usually a deeper-founded love that exists between two souls that is unspoken but boundless in their mutual understanding of the loyalty, regard, and ultimately - unconditional love for the other. Not even needing to be in a formal relationship or bound by obligations of a certain role to feel motivated to watch out for the best interests of their loved one. To know that they will do the right thing by and for this soul, even if it meant being moved to exchange their life just so their loved one could live on and grace the world with their continuing presence. The act of true, pure love.
I still believe in the uplifting beauty of a great romantic love, to fall blissfully hard until the heart bursts in pure happiness with the one you are insanely attracted to. But if there's any kind of love to reach up high for, it's The One that brings the moon to you just so they can see your face light up. The One that won't ask you to reach that high, for they will be the one to set it in front of you. This one-of-a kind, pure love does not have a face, it is felt with the soul.
I know this exists, because this kind of love exists within me for all who have my heart.
With LOVE. Always,
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