A Heart That Thinks Is a Heart That Waits

Crack. Such is the sound of a breaking heart. Oh how fragile the heart is, and yet how courageous; ever ready to face its destruction. Tears flow as the heart cries out in agony, as inconceivable pain tortures the soul, as sorrow clouds the mind, and as disappointment weakens the body. Only a few are wise enough to save themselves from the futility of love. But it is not because they are less courageous than others, they are only more practical. If they feel they are not ready, they will not hasten to experience this feeling. They see life as full of love, but not love as the reason for life.

Love is an emotion conjured by the mind, is it not? Then a more developed mind is more capable of loving than that of a primitive one. Therefore, it is right to assume that members of the world's earliest civilizations knew little or nothing of love, for they knew little of anything. Cavemen did not have a clear grasp of the meaning of love, as do we all. For how can you love, when you have neither compassion nor mercy, or even selflessness? They lived in a world where survival was the key, and romance did not have a place then. But what's to take not of, is that they survived millenniums without this concept present in their lives. They were able to thrive and conceive civilizations without romantic love. In the same way, arranged marriages were thought practical then, for it served the purpose of procreation more than anything. Albeit arranged marriages are a taboo subject today, the bottom line is that men survived without romantic love, and sure enough it is merely a concept that has been romanticized through out the years; just like hate, anger, remorse, and agony.

Just as well, people of today can survive without experiencing romantic love. We have all been children once, and as a child we did not desire anyone, as one might desire a person of the opposite sex now. However we knew love, love from our parents and our siblings. Contented we were, just to be cared for, and romance was nothing but a foreign concept. Why then do we seek it now? We strive to find that ounce of passion, that craving to be intimate with someone, the affection that would drown death in his tears. Why, when we have lived for years without it? We do not need romantic love in order to get from one day to another, but we want it, because it makes us feel as if we are complete, as if we have found a whole new meaning to life. But such is an illusion, for this kind of love is not the only thing worth living for. And the sense of completeness it evokes is only satisfaction magnified a thousand times. Also, as we grow older we face life's inequities, and the care our parents once showed us now seem a distant memory, hence we are pushed to look for the same care and compassion elsewhere.

We look for someone to share our burdens with, to hold on to, and to give us compassion and someone to believe in us. Companionship, this is what we seek. Romantic love is defined as an obsession, driven by incalculable passion. There is attraction that underlines the idea, but it is not what humans are after. It is merely what draws us closer to one another, but the motive behind this attraction is the need to be with someone who understands and supports you. Being romantically involved has its benefits in the area of intimacy, but what do you get from it that you don't get from the platonic love that you share with your closest friends? Nothing. The care that we yearn for is a selfless virtue that is not foreign to friends and family. It can be given outside the bounds romantic love.

But love is true, love is

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