Is love a waste if it's not appreciated or reciprocated?
I occasionally get discouraged when faced with the same brick walls over and over and over again. Who wouldn't? Why waste your heart on those who don't appreciate how you feel or those who don't feel the same way? Because love is still love.
Think of the greatest act of love in the whole history of the world. Suffered for all mankind in a garden by the Son. Was that a waste just because there are those who don't appreciate it? Of course not.
Is a mother always appreciated by her children? No but she loves them unconditionally and learns to savor the moments when appreciation is shown.
Love is still love and is never a waste. Even when those we love don't love us back, or in the way that we would wish them to. If we steel our hearts away then eventually the heart will forget what kindness tastes like and the warmth that compassion brings.
The cuts and bruises that come from love only serve to keep our hearts tender and teach us to love even greater the next time around. If you let them...
Open your heart. Without reservation. Without fear. Don't let pass burns fester and grow. Air out the wound and let it heal. Then start over and fall in love again. There is somebody for everybody...
Summer in review
12 years ago
Regardless of the cute saying to the contrary, it's sometimes better to never have loved than to love and lose.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe not NEVER.
What I've learned is mostly just to choose more carefully who to love. Skip ones that clearly won't work out, whether you wish they would or not. Putting the pieces back together can take too long.
PS my grandma once said "It's better to have loved and lost than to buy shoes for eight children."
That's sort of on topic, right?
I would assert that the 'cuts and bruises' one experiences does not come from love, but that lack thereof. I believe that the nature of love is without pain. It is when others act without love that one can get hurt. This stands regardless of the situation, and regardless of the type of love.
ReplyDeleteShaun- How can we judge what will work out and what won't? We can try to judge based on past experiences, or personality differences but do we truly know what is best for us or what will "work out"? Sometimes people suprise us. Sometime things work out that I never would have thought would. How do we know?
ReplyDeleteHuman beings rarely know what is best for them and that's why we are so often told to put our trust in higher beings. Isn't it better to give things a chance than to "skip those that clearly won't work out"?
I'm young and maybe that's why my views are this way. I think it truly is better have have loved and lost and although it may take a long time to put the pieces back together it's worth it to not sit wondering what might have been.
And I think my mom would agree. 8 kids is a lot to buy shoes for. :)
Callie- You're right. True selflessness is love and never brings pain. See? You're so much smarter than I am. :)
That's a good attitude, and I had it for most of my life, but...there's a hazy line between "open to experience" and "reckless." There are rewards and costs for any risk, and avoiding costly mistakes can leave you available to take better ones later.
ReplyDeleteIt's like climbing: if you use a rope and fall, then you can climb again tomorrow. If not, you can have fun in your wheelchair if you survive.
I'm just saying that in hindsight, I'd have played a few things differently, and wish I'd have been wiser before. "Experience is what you get when you don't have experience."
And being cautious doesn't mean you have to rule everything out. Maybe just dive in more slowly, or check for submerged logs that will break your neck before committing yourself, ya know?
Yes, inspiration is the best guide if you remember to get some.
Shaun- Reckless? Yes. That is a word that runs around in my veins a lot. Maybe I'll grow out of it but I hope not. :) And I think you would be horrified if you saw me rock climbing...
ReplyDelete