The emotion we call love comes in many guises and, for that matter, many disguises. But any description of love would be incomplete without a dialogue on the particular and peculiar intensity of emotion that passes between two people ‘in love’.
When love is mutual, open and free, it is the most beautiful thing on earth. It is joy and beauty and everything wonderful. Love at its finest has no price tag attached simply because both parties have only the desire to give to the other. There is no fear, only trust and a desire to please, to stay connected.
It is as a result of having known just such a love that prompted my decision many
years ago to ‘keep the walls down’. I knew when I made that decision that I was leaving
myself vulnerable to being hurt again. And I wasn’t wrong. In giving all of my heart
over to love I have been hurt to the point of wanting to crawl into a hole and pull
it in after me. In those moments of darkness it was easy to forget high-
And yet, in the larger scheme of life and living, I have never regretted that decision. Love can be so joyous that, in my more sane moments, I knew I would rather bear years of pain just to know a few moments of love’s wonder. Besides, if I had kept those walls up I would have denied myself the greatest love of my life – my husband.
The trick, of course, is to let the pain take its course and pass by, and hold only the joy close to your heart. I know, it is easier said than done. But so many people miss out on the finest thing this life has to offer because they are afraid, and I find that so very sad.
I count it a great privilege to have been on the receiving end of many kinds of love.
Likewise I am very thankful to have a great capacity for giving love, because having
the capacity to love whole-
Romantic Love
