Love is a way of life

"It was love; love alone Caused King Edward to leave his throne It was love, love, love, love, love alone Caused King Edward to leave his throne"

King Edward famously known for abdicating the throne to marry an American socialite is one that makes us wonder, what is it about love that makes people do crazy things?

Love, much like happiness or sadness can be described as a subjective emotion that we have all felt at some point in our lives. It could be the love from family, close friends, or a lover. Each journey has its ups and downs and we spend a large portion of our life in the quest for love, sometimes giving up thinking it doesn't exist. My quest for romantic love was one such experience. Overly romanticized movies made me think that romantic love is a destination, that I had to reach once every other part of my life was figured out.

When I entered university I thought I had my life figured out when I fell in love with my best friend, but when it broke my heart I thought love was finding comfort and vulnerability in someone that loves you. Yet again when that did not work out, I thought of seeking out love by dating many people to find the one in million. Every quest ended in failure to reach the destination of romantic love, but it did teach me some important lessons.

For me, love was friendship, love was letting someone see your deepest vulnerabilities, or love was having new adventures with someone. Each time it taught me something new, that there is a thin line between friendship and love, and that every relationship has its limits. Love is not an idea, every person is imperfect and more often than not, they won't live up to your expectations. Love as an adventure is romantic in idea, but all adventures come to an end when reality strikes.

When we seek love, what we see is perfection and idealistic representation of our self and the person we love. While this is possible for a certain period of time when situations are favorable, it becomes impossible to remain idealistic when situations change. Disappointed in ourselves and others for our imperfections often we try to control the situation and environment to ensure it remains perfect. But is this love?

Could love just be the feeling that grounds us to reality? Is love the feeling that makes us experience all emotions at once? Or could love be stability? Maybe there is no one answer. Love grounds us to reality, makes us experience all emotions at once and sometimes keeps us safe and comforted. Surely, I do not see love as a destination anymore, I realize now that love is found everywhere as it is a long term commitment we make to be true to ourselves. Love is a way of life.