Something the gentleman builder said to me this evening set me thinking. He said "you continue to amaze me, even after all these years". After the warm and fuzzy feeling had died down, I began thinking about that and how, to me, that's one of the things that keeps love alive. That, regardless of how much time you spend with someone, you find out more about them or look at them in a different light and fall in love all over again.
Now, it's "too late, tonight, to drag the past out into the light. We're one but we're not the same; we get to carry each other" through life. I believe that part of being human is sharing our lives with other people. There are not true hermits. I think that, intrinsic to being human is supporting each other and helping each other through the tough times. Let's face it, no one goes through life without acquiring emotional baggage. What's important is that those we love and those that love us are there not only for the good times but through the darkest times in our lives. And they love us just the same.
This set me on another train of thought, as U2 filled the car with one of my all time favourite songs, One, about the types of love there are in the world. Most of societies marketing is aimed at romantic love but I believe there are other types of love that can be almost as powerful, namely:
- parent love - there's nothing like the love I feel when I look the eyes of my children, hold them in my arms and soak up their individuality (freaking out knowing that I am responsible for their sanity and will be the source of much of their baggage as they grow up)
- sibling love - regardless of the amount of crap times I endured growing up, I'll always love my sister and, thankfully, the love I have for her continues to grow as we get older
- child love - the love I have for my parents and my innate desire to please them drives me to be a better version of myself
- family love - the love I have for my aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews overflows at times
- friend love - the love I feel for my close friends is just as strong as the love I feel for my family. I am indebted to so many of my friends for the memories and the camaraderie we share
Metallica seem to hit the spot when they wrote the lyrics "Forever trusting who we are and nothing else matters... Life is ours, we live it our way". No one goes through life without making mistakes, without regrets and without experiencing pain. Thankfully, most of us get to sprinkle our lives with happiness and moments of pure joy. Love, in all its forms, is a way of learning more about ourselves. It's about finding our place in the world. Love is rarely a smooth journey but even if love ends, it is possible to look back and find the moments of joy shared between two hearts.
Like Rebecca Ferguson says "nothing's real but the love. No money, no house, no car, can beat the love". And turning the tables on one of Adele's most popular song - sometimes it hurts in love, but sometimes it lasts instead.
