To you young lovers out there, behold! I am in no way a certified lover of romantic stories or movies neither I’ve never been into buying chocolates and roses when I was a teenager. As I grow old, I become a learner. By the way, this entry is a follow-up to my last year’s V-Day post that can be revisited here.
To be honest, even today, I still grapple with the concept of love and romance or its combination, romantic love. All I know is love elicits reaction that cannot be equaled by and compared to any other human emotions. And ultimately, this is expected to lead us to being with one flesh to someone and guide us to marriage. It can also be an experience of learning for our next encounter with it. It can make us fearless and courageous to commit ourselves to another human being, to borrow the familiar tagline of DWRR 101.9, “for life”. As such, if you’re a girl and your friend curiously asked you this between giggles, the day after your honeymoon: “Have you already lost your virginity?” you will answer back madly (perhaps shyly or proudly): “Hell, no! I voluntarily gave it away!”
Many young people who were steadies somewhat confused between “feeling good” and “falling in love.” (I have reservations with the term “fall in love” but I explain that later.) Lovers or sweethearts struggle to change the other by setting rules taken from each other’s “likes and dislikes” lists, aiming for the relationship to last. They work hard to be comfortable and compatible with each other. But most of the time, young lovers end up with a break-up because such “rules” are broken by either or both of them a consequently lead to limbo, of losing one’s own identity. Love, romantic or otherwise, can be defined radically like this: “When two unselfish people who are deeply aware that love or romance is not for personal excellence nor beauty and aesthetic value that are hinged on commercialism.” So, selflessness has a huge and workplace because humanity by and large is taken with romance and romantic love. Selflessness make love gets stronger everyday.
Every time I hear the old song “When I Fall in Love” being played, I often wonder why there is such English phrase “falling in love”, where in fact true and genuine love is not something to “fall” into. True love is not the bottom of a cliff but the roots and branches of a life-giving tree near it. “God is love”, this strong statement also shows us to whom, aside from each other, to cling to when the relationship is on the rocks. But believing in love as well as God is not enough. And you will be able to find them most of the time in the most turbulent flight of your life. Truth to tell, love comes your way even if you do not find it.
On the occasion of Valentine’s Day on Monday remember that when you love, you cling to each other, to other people, to community and to God roots and branches…
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(Photo from Googleimages)
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