*This blog is a shout out to my friends, Denis and Denise. Your friendship is precious. *

The Brevity of Love

Anyone seen Love Actually? I happen to own that DVD. I bought it for a whopping C$7. Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

Few weeks ago, I watched it with my boyfriend and our married friends. It was definately an eye opener to watch the movie again after about a year of not watching it. Anyone who has watched it will know the multiple story lines in it, stemming from cheating lip locking wives to overtly friendly American girls from Wisconsin.

The mains issue of the movie was the hasty representation of love that it potrayed. Marital decisions done without regard to language and communication barriers, young 8 year olds embarking on the "trip of their lifetime" and porno actors who marry, and are conservative about it. Please. Anyone in their right mind would know that love does not carve that route.

Now, I could be like the Apostle Paul and rant like he did to the Corinthians, but I choose to put it in the language of our everyday life.

Love does not see Mr. Now as better than Mr. Then. Love is being able to accept your partner based on their own merit, without saying "But he treated me better than the last guy".

Love is strong. It is being able to say no and to accept a no. This happens more in the particulars.

Love is respectful, it is knowing when to tell your partner to take time off from the relationship and aid them in taking care of their other relationship. The main shortfalling of many dating couples is that when they continue to spend more and more time together, they neglect the very friends and family members who made them who they are, made them who their partner first was attracted to. When couples start to put too much hope in another falible human being, it is the sweet recipie for emotional let downs.

Love is being able to accept the person as is, and not changing them. I'm sure everyone has heard the adage "Men marry in hopes that the woman doesn't change, and women marry in the hope that the man will change". What a miserable world. Change is to be had together, and at the same time, change should not happen to the core fundamental aspects of a person. Couples of the world would have less heartache if each could accept the other, flaws and all.

Most of all, Love is knowing what you want, what your partner wants, and doing the right steps to get that, no matter how painful, how far away the rewards look. Ability for delayed gratification is a marked sign of maturity.

The Brevity of Love is not of love at all, rather the immediate need for self gratification.