But reality is about to hit you in the face with a huge truth bomb.
Call me a cynical romantic but I’m the type of person who believes in a different type of true love. Call me pessimistic. Call me a killjoy. But that’s just something about myself that is probably never going to change. Let me explain myself.
I don’t really buy into the traditional fairytale narrative that most people attach to romance and love. I don’t really buy into the whole Hollywood hot pink, roman candle dinner under the moonlight kind of love. I don’t believe in the serendipitous kind of love where everything just seems to fall magically into place for two people who are in love with one another.
I don’t by into any of that. I’m not the kind of person who carries grand expectations when I start to fall in love. I don’t expect anyone to make my heart skip a beat. I don’t expect anyone to take my breath away. I don’t expect anyone to give me butterflies or to make me fall head over heels. In fact, I’m one of the few people who share the unpopular opinion that noncommittal relationships are a great thing. I’m one of the few kinds of people who think that monogamy is overrated and that it’s exhilarating to live in an age wherein the lines of commitment and loyalty are constantly being pushed and tested.
But don’t get me wrong. I’m still a big believer in true love I probably just don’t see it the way that most people do. And do you know why I’m such a big believer in true love? It’s because I’ve experienced it for myself. It has made its way into my life and I got to know what it has grown to mean first-hand. It was the kind of love that almost overwhelmed my senses. It was the kind of love that was almost beyond physical comprehension.
It was the kind of love that I almost couldn’t believe in. This was the kind of love that burst into a great ball of fire. It was the kind of love that ignited the flames of passion with the strength of a million hearts. It was the kind of love that I thought I could sustain; the kind of fire that would never burn out. This was the kind of love that inspired poets to write sonnets. This was the kind of love that motivated musicians to create symphonies. This was the kind of love that just kept on giving and teaching without ever asking for anything in return. This was the too good to be true kind of love. And sadly, even though the love was true, it still didn’t work out. But that’s okay.
I am of the belief that if you are lucky enough, you get a shot at experiencing true love with a special someone. You get to know this person. You become emotionally invested in this person. You give all of yourself to this person and they give just as much in return. You learn from them and you teach them at the same time. You change one another sometimes for the worse, and sometimes for the better. You influence one another to think, talk, and behave a certain way. It’s an unmatchable sensation that just can’t be replicated by any other experience in this life.
And then you wonder about what it means to have a perfect love. You start to wonder if the true love that you’re experiencing now is the perfect kind. You start to think if what you have really is built to last because you’re afraid. You’re scared to waste an opportunity as good as this with someone as special as them.
But reality is about to hit you in the face with a huge truth bomb. It’s very much possible to experience true love with someone, and still have things not work out in the end.
Just because we experience true love with someone doesn’t automatically mean that we get to spend the rest of our lives with them. We are not entitled to being there at the end with them when it’s all said and done. We are not entitled to holding their hands through marriage and parenthood. We are not entitled to having that love stay with us for the rest of our lives and that’s the truth. And while it may be unfortunate to have a true kind of love again, it’s also okay.
You just have to remember that old clich. It is better to have love and lost than to have never loved at all. And that’s something that you really need to take to heart. Learn to value the love that was given to you even if it didn’t exactly last. It doesn’t make that love any less valid. It doesn’t make that love any less true.
