Everyone Loves Love?

This article really inspired me. What is it that makes people think about love so much? Everyone is drawn to it. You either love love or hate love but you are never ambivalent towards it. 

There are so many chick flicks that revolve around people finding their "true love". Ms. Healy suggests that the real life sort of love, the ups and downs and everything in between sort of love, is a life long process - not the romantic moment at the start of things.

How do you define love? Obviously, there are different types. 

Crazy romance and giddy feelings are part of falling in love, but is it actual love until you make the commitment to love that person? My mom always says that love is a verb. You demonstrate love by your actions and you actively choose to love someone. 

Yesterday, Chris asked me about my thoughts on love. He's heard me telling many of my friends that I love them and it threw him for a loop. 

In his mind, things are very black and white - true love is the willingness to lay down your life for someone else, completely abandoning all selfishness. 

In my mind, that is the greatest sort of love, but I'm a shades of gray type of gal. I would do almost anything for my friends, but the list of those people is much longer than the list of people for whom I would truly sacrifice my life. I've concluded, so far, that real love is the abandonment of selfishness. How that plays out - yet to be determined. 

I will say that I am surrounded by many great examples of it. My parents waited until later in life to get married and are about to celebrate their 25th anniversary while my aunt and uncle were college sweethearts and will have been married for 37 years this year. Both relationships started in very different ways, but the strength of the commitment has carried them through. Although none of them would say it was easy or is easy, I do know they consider it 100% worth it. Their examples are daunting, but ultimately a huge testament to the validity of true commitment.

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