Real Love

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are.

Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."
~ Captain Corelli's Mandolin

I ran across this quote on Emily's blog: The Adventure's of Little Miss Pissy (check her out, she is hilarious) and it struck such a cord with me. We often look around and see couples so infatuated with one another, so googly eyed in one anther's presence that we can't help but envy them and think, "Aw, they are so much in love". And yes, they probably are indeed "in love", but being "in love" and having real love are two totally different things.

For 25 years I've had the privilege of watching and learning from two people who I believe have found what everyone in this world is ultimately seeking ...real, unconditional, never ending love . Those two people are my parents. No they don't lose their breath when they see each other, no you won't see them making out in public or bragging about how incredible their relationships is... But at the end of the day they know without a shadow of a doubt that the other will be there for them. They've built a family together, they've built a life together, they respect each other, they are committed to each other, they are each other's best friend.

That's what real love is...and I can only hope and pray to find the same thing one day.



Quote of the day: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. . ." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7