Love…………………….

Hitherto, love to me was an alien concept, an illusion, a fabrication of the mind, a means towards an end and simply put; a temporary form of madness. I have never been the kind of person to laud love, to celebrate it let alone do stupid things in the name of love. I can’t quite recall whether this was informed by genetic makeup or whether it was simply a behavior exhibited by a person who was yet to experience the true meaning of love. To me, love was itself an illness that could only afflict others but not me. I considered myself immune, indifferent and by extension aloof in matters concerning love. 

This, as I came to learn many years later, was an act of ignorance. Indeed, whoever coined the phrase ignorance is bliss was not a fool. I was ignorant, indifferent to the fact that love forms part and basis of my very existence. I realized albeit too late that am a product of love, that every sphere of my life is informed by love. I am what I am today because of the affection, the love, the warmth accorded to me by my parents, my friends, and sometimes even strangers. For long, I held the notion that romantic love is what defines love. I derided the notion that other forms of love such as filial love and agape love are what made life meaningful.

Many are the times we run away from love, make excuses as to why we can’t love and inadvertently take a sabbatical on all issues related to love. We take pleasure in running away from love, allowing opportunities to escape us, give away people who have changed us completely and simply become indifferent to acts of love. I don’t know why this seems as an easy route, why people prefer switching off their humanity or embark on the path of destruction. I have come to realize that life has no meaning if you keep running away from love. It absolutely makes no sense running from the very thing that gives you a purpose, a form of fulfillment and contentment.

Many wet their pillows at night all in the name of love, some wear a mask that they are indifferent to love but inwardly crave for it. We have basically become a pack of pretenders. We have taken the word love literally and in the process hurt so many people. We betray our friends, our parents and basically are strangers to our very existence. We use love as a means to get something. It could be acceptance, sex, friendship or anything that is of importance to us at the moment.

What we often forget to realize is that love is central in our lives, its priceless, timeless and the very thing that adds purpose to our lives. It makes the world a better place to live in, makes us to live in harmony and to be contented. Our inability to love is why we live in constant fear of other peoples actions; the world is insecure because people do take for granted the virtue of love. There are massive killings, heartaches simply because people have not embraced what love is. Love unites us, gives us a sense of purpose, fulfillment as well as contentment.

It’s never too late to tell someone you love them, how they make your life more meaningful or the role they play to make it more fulfilling. In the final analysis, love conquers everything; it overcomes tribal prejudices, color, short comings and indeed makes everything amazing and beautiful. If you are truly happy and in love, do everything you can to safeguard that love. At the end of the day, LOVE defines our lives J and adds meaning to it!