Love & Appreciation

When we can find a soul that shares not for who we know, what we look like, or what we can do, but merely for who we are, then we must stop and give thanks.

Peace.

Probing thoughts with a friend, 1998

Love & Appreciation

True love, the true 100% is given not for what you get in return, but because of YOU. True love is giving without expecting or wanting anything in return. In life, if we are at all capable of love, then we must accept that there will be times when we give 110% because we feel we need to, and we will not get it back with the same intensity.

There will be cases when someone gives us 110% and we can't give it back.

When you find someone who feels the same desire to give 110% that you do - THAT is when love is truly a pleasure to behold, but... for you, the pleasure you gain from *giving* the love should be no different than for the case where you only get back 40%.

The key is to realise that giving doesn't guarantee getting back; and that when you are in a relationship that is equally 110%, it is not that the love is any fuller. It's just that you are now getting pleasure *both* from giving *and* receiving.

It is a difficult task to give without getting back; to accept the pleasure only from giving, and not resent the person for not giving back. They are only doing what is right for them, and if you truly love them, then how could you ask of them more than what is right for them? See?

It is a difficult task, I will grant anyone that. But once you grasp that, love can be a far more fulfilling emotion. There are many people in this world who I love deeply - some of whom I don't even like! :-) But I accept that I love them and that they are special to me. Most of them love other people 110%, but bless me with their 40% and it is a wonderful thing.

I have people who love me 110%, and I would ask no less or no more of them.

Pain is an integral part of pleasure, and so it is an integral part of love. To accept love is to accept the pain, and the pleasure that you will experience.

If you can still love 110%, then I envy you. I envy you your joy, and I envy you your pain. I would swap my smooth, small ripples of emotion, for your crashing waves of joy, and pain. Life to me seems so much fuller that way - always in constant motion, rather than bouncing up and down in the same spot. Don't curse the wave that crashes down on you, for it is the same wave that lifted you to the tremendous height.