LOVE IS...

TODAY'S QUOTE:
Love is a friendship that has caught fire...it is a loyalty through good and bad. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses... Ann Landers

Love that begins with friendship has a symmetry that really does not exist in relationships that are formed in any other fashion. Desire can be red hot, but if that is the foundation then if it dies the whole structure collapses. Beauty fades, conditions change, trouble visits, and poof its gone like a puff of smoke that even a gentle breeze can master. Friendship first and forever will hold that love solid, no matter what conspires against it.

Real love does not depend on anything except itself to exist. Money cannot buy it, bad health cannot destroy it, sex cannot guarantee it, outsiders cannot steal it, and eternity is not long enough to make it forgettable. Real love does not rely on rings and things. Real love does not live in a fancy house... it lives soul-deep and is satisfied with the simple things. Sharing space is enough when it is real, and when it is not... then nothing is ever enough to make it more than what it is.

The notion of love is very different from the reality. We all dream of happily ever after, but that is truly something we can only give to ourselves. It does not depend upon who you love, but it does depend upon loving who you are. Real love demands total trust and trustworthiness. Real love expects total loyalty and gives it in equal measure. And only loving when it is effortless to do so is nothing to brag about.

I have spoken here before about my personal talismans and how I use them for my own ease and instant comfort. Today I will describe part of one briefly, because it has everything to do with real love. My brother gave me a book I hold every day... The Prayer of Jabez... inside the book is a pledge I say every morning. And it goes as follows...

"My love and commitment of and to Warren doesn't depend upon anything outside of himself. Not on fortune, health, sex, friends, family... not on what he gives me, or what he takes away. Not on rings... or rites... or vows before God said and taken. Blessing or curse I'll love him till I die."

That means I'll love him when he's lovable and when he's not. Most times total blessing, sometimes a bit of curse... but always unshakable... and it began with friendship... and continues resting in that same sweet space, no matter what else happens.

Start with friendship... then add to it... so that no matter what is subtracted the friendship remains... that to me is real love. Think about it... let it ride... then decide!!!