I literally fell off my chair today
when I read the status of my cousin brother on Facebook. Well it had something to
do with love and its idiosyncrasies. Well, don’t get me wrong I do know that
the teenage years are full of wild crushes and the newly discovered sensations
of love. After all, these are the best years for those stolen glances and
unspoken romances. No I am not a skeptic at all when it comes to love. I have
had a love marriage after all, so I do know how inviting the idea of finding
that one perfect person to have your own
happily ever after with really is! But what caught me unawares is
perhaps the fact that my brother, whom I still considered a baby, had suddenly
grown up. Well either I had been aging full throttle or he had just skipped few
years landing directly at the Casanova stage of his life.
What bothered me most though was his update
concerning the nuances of love for somewhere I felt it was damaging. I do believe
that love is imperative but I also feel that it isn’t the only thing in life or
rather shouldn’t be the only thing in life. Our life’s canvass is unquestionably
more diverse than that. But my little brother’s Facebook updates spoke of something
which culminated to everything or nothing in life for love. Maybe he’s just not
so little anymore or maybe I’m just over-reacting! Well I know I probably sound
like a grandmother right now but I just feel seriously concerned when I see his,
or for that matter anybody else’s updates, about living solely for love!
A few years back I would have
probably not even bothered about all these. Call it what you may- experience or
simply life, but I have certainly learnt that it is indeed a grave mistake to only
prioritize love in life. If your companion is perfect then well and good, you
couldn’t have asked for more. The rest of the things in life then fall into
perspective and proceed unhindered.
But I have also seen friends suffer
when led on by their one-dimensional belief in love. I have heard stories of
girls suffering for the rest of their lives for sacrificing everything in love.
And why only girls, boys too have suffered just the same. People have given up
successful careers and sometimes ruined their lives completely in pursuit of this
illusive metaphorical love.
In fact, just today I came to know of
a woman who was cheated on by her husband. And that’s not the worst part. The
worst part was that she had given up her studies and career to be with this man
and bear his child. She had worn clothes that he approved of, abiding by all
his whims leaving no room for herself as an individual. And this because she
believed in love and that loving him was the singular objective of her life. This
utopian notion of love and living for it led her to this stage today.
Falling in love is a wonderful
feeling, it’s definitely not wrong. But perhaps we shouldn’t limit ourselves to
only love’s interpretation of life. We shouldn’t make it the center of our
universe for if that crashed nothing in the world would be able to save us from
the fathomless pit of self-destruction. It is advisable, if I may say so, to
have several other priorities and interests in life to fall back on. It
couldn’t possibly hurt using a part of our brains too when defining our
existence, could it?
All those teenagers out there, and
perhaps each one of us too, should remember that there is more to life than the
company of a person who could either turn out to be a blessing or a bane in the
near future! When life itself is transient, what makes us believe that love
isn’t? Though I’d always like to think otherwise but sometimes it’s not. Perhaps
those crazy decisions people end up taking when spurned or deceived in love could
be avoided. Perhaps, then in spite of setbacks in matters of the hearts, life
would seem as a viable and happier option. So fall in love but don’t fall so
hard that it becomes difficult to stand up again!
My moon,
my star,
Oh
precious gift sheer,
With
you around or afar,
Love
carries me through life’s pier.
But
if one day you disappear,
In
life and time all austere,
Tears
obscure around sure,
But
with hope I’d spend every year,
And
won’t give up on life’s allure!