WHAT IS LOVE FOR YOU?
It's "when the moon hits
your eyes like a big pizza pie, that's amore" for some of us, and "love
stills our loneliness" for others, but for most of us, it's a story, one
that we cherish--or, maybe, one we avoid remembering. For me, it's like
the way it's described in the song "Love Story," in the "he" version.
Two weeks ago, in one of
my classes, I learned from a discussion that no one believes in the
existence of love. However, maybe they've forgotten that love isn't a "one
time only" feeling, but instead, as time passes, it grows, and each day
we get older, it's shaped by our wisdom, perceptions and desires.
For many cultures, love
isn't only the emotional attachment between two people. For some people,
love is best exemplified by what they feel towards their family or their
friends, because in such cases, love does not expect anything in return,
it's not selfish, it's shared and respected. On the other hand, love is
sometimes more like an obsession, an attachment formed without any
sense. From a religious point of view, love is usually considered as the
love of God, and also interpreted as the tolerance shown to others. For
workaholics, love can be defined as their affection for their job. In
regard to our families, perhaps it's their existence in our souls, minds
and behavior. This list could continue forever, in my opinion. It's
obvious that love exists in the world, but maybe we each define it in
our own way.
Probably the biggest
mistake most of us make is that when this emotional attachment loses its
meaning, we give up and start not believing in its existence. We forget
that life is always full of joy and good things hidden behind the
surface reality. Before thinking and acting pessimistically, we need to
take a deep breath and look back at the past to understand our mistakes
and learn from them. We must also find the strength to accept the good
moments. Then, by accepting our past disappointment in love, we can move
toward future "loves."
I think that love is a
very intense feeling full of mistakes and also infinite forgiveness. It
takes time to accept it, get used to it and be able to live with it.
Sometimes it's tested by missing each other, by having different
opinions about critical decisions or just by having involuntary fights,
but it still lives in our hearts as long as we let it. Just try to give
it a chance, and then maybe you'll realize that it exists everywhere.
Have a week full of love (dedicated to my lovely family and only love of
my heart AND everybody who loves).
Sıla Türkü Kural (EE/III)
turku@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
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