Asim Nabi/Staff Writer
We all have been in one of those instances where we feel connected with someone, whether they have a habit which we admire or they have a certain aroma around them.
But is love all that we require from others? Is love conditional, is it a give and take, or is it an unconditional one where all we need is trust and the company of someone?
In our culture we often idolize love as a remedy to all our life’s problems. Our movies, history and stories are full of happy endings where love is the solution to all our pain and struggle. But we fail to garner that love is not enough at all; we need to learn humility, respect and commitment towards each person.
Love is not demanded, it is earned. It is through the challenges of life that we realize that love is a mutual road which we have to work on each and every day. No two people can ever think of being in love with each other if they don’t work on it.
We tend to forget that we have to work in order to fill our bellies, the same way we have to work to love one another. How can we ever dream of loving someone who doesn’t love us back the same way as we do, or whose life goals, dreams, accomplishments are totally alienated from us? We can not offer love without feeling loved; we have to make it happen.
Love is not the only solution to seek companionship, either. We tend to forget that we are the most important person to ourselves first. If I don’t love myself first, then I don’t have any right to love someone else. People mistake the love for others as all they can offer instead of focusing more on how they can fulfill their own self, which will make them more open and acceptable towards others.
If I need someone else to fill my life, then I’m making a bizarre mistake. No one can fill the void we have deep in our heart; we have to stand up for ourselves and look outwards to seek how to manage the self.
Unconditional love sounds ideal, but we always covet certain things that we think will make us more loved. Just remember that there will never be a time where we think of love as just receiving or giving. Rather, the different phases of love demand different sacrifices with time.
Featured image by Glenn Lascuña on Flickr.
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