Probably one of the hardest yet rewarding feelings in life are those of affection and love. More than the cliche imagery that might seem more apt for a column that might be written in early February rather than early March, I don’t mean love strictly as a romantic element, but rather a broader definition of the emotion — the kind of love that can shape anything from a close friendship to a family relation to an honest business partnership.
All variants of that emotion are also not as many perceive them. As you gain closeness with an individual, it is just as important to respect how they love you as it is to love them back.
Today not many people will show affection or are unwilling to try their best to help another individual out, regardless of how they feel internally. It’s a by-product of the me society we live in today to a large degree. No one cares about others, as long as it does not affect their daily lives or finances.
Personally I’ve been lucky, having three people I know in my heart of hearts I can truly rely on at anytime. However, in the immortal words of Fred Durst, I deserve a “smackin for slacking”, because admittedly I have not always honored my end of the deal as of late.
Two of that trio are two of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met. Both have hearts and souls that I adore and I love them both unreservedly one hundred percent.
Same goes for the third individual, who I’ve known for quite awhile and it’s quite possible without prompting that he is reading this space right now (hello).
Basically the idea is that love and friendship are never one lane roads, and if you find a couple of those very special people who are willing to deal with the dips, turns and forks in your path, you are extremely lucky.
Which means not only should you feel compelled to ride shotgun with them down their own twisting highways but also realize that your actions and thoughts about everything from world affairs to how you honor your own life, dreams and appearance are just as much a sign of affection for those special souls as it is for yourself.
Sometimes it is easy to forget yourself in the chaos of life’s stresses. No one means to get so wrapped up in the problems of the materialistic world, but we do.
Appreciation is usually shown, not just talked about. No matter how wonderful and how caring you appear to be, you can’t expect others to invest in a situation where they can see a negative outcome through your current actions. Those actions just don’t speak louder than words but they scream most loudly all people need to know about you.
No matter how much they care, another aspect of love is sometimes to let that love go if it is not meeting their expectations. This is fair and just treatment, as the old saying goes, how can you love someone that does not love themselves?
However, there is always hope, as long as we have not overstepped any major boundaries with those we might not have respected as much as we should have, including ourselves.
So there does exist at almost all times a choice to change course in these matters, and sometimes that journey means an inner change as well as outward.
To love thyself; the first love, the essential love, yet at times one can fall short of those aspirations, me among them.
This is not something that is non-negotiable, respect and love should breed more respect and love…so although taking on change can be difficult, in the end there is no alternative, besides your influence might be reaching further than you think.
Love is the best tonic, but if you do not know the taste of it yourself, how can you seek it out?
