What happened to the love?

Where has the love gone, the starry eyes that carry the passion laden looks across the spaces steaming up the way in their wake, as the hearts beat faster in response, the endless longing that comes along once struck by cupid’s arrow? What happened to dreamy sun sets, to romantic picnics, to walks on the beach late at night, enjoying the sweet carress of the sand in between your toes, watching the moon above go behind the clouds? Is that all lost in a past that cannot be recaptured because we have all been through one disastrous love affair? Or because we do not want to expose ourselves to these emotions?
What happens to us when we’ve been hurt by love, when the one thing we so desired turns on us and causes havoc in our lives and changes us forever? Leaving empty shells where there once was a heart, paranoid, afraid to ever go down that road again and putting up a resistance when anyone approaches us and wants to lead us down that route.
That first innocence, that naiveté crushed and forever gone leaving behind a cynical outlook on love and even doubting its existence. How could we possibly repair the damage caused and replace the sunny outlook, is there even a way to go back to before… before the anguish began?
After love is done with most of us, we are in a permanent state of depravation where mayhem rules because we cannot trust that emotion ever again. When love goes wrong, it cripples and maims us for life – at least emotionally. I wonder what the cure is, what balm could possibly heal that wound? Is there anything that would bring back the enjoyment, the mystery of discovering each other and the joy that comes in finding that soul mate, that heart that beats in sync with yours? Or are we forever held prisoner by our suspicions?
We blame love for all kinds of misfortune, if our kindred spirit is claimed by another person or God forbid death then we blame love, is it better to have loved for a short momemt than to never have lovedat all? I ask myself this question constantly and I am afraid to admit that I am not sure….. Do the good times truly outweigh the heartbreak that comes along with this person not being in our lives anymore unless we were both ready to let go? And in that case, do you really ever let go of people you sincerely love? Can you turn your feelings off and decide not to care anymore?
As somebody famously said in the Shawshank Redemption; “Fear can hold you prisoner but hope can set you free”. Do we dare hope that this stage too will pass and we will find ourselves open to this adventure or are we even afraid to hope? Are we supposed to reclaim the days gone by, the yesterdays that have all merged into one dream that we are not even sure we lived? Or walk into it with different expectations, looking for a different kind of fulfillment?
I don’t think that there are any guarantees and that more than anything else holds us back, not knowing if our fancy will come to pass. But isn’t it worth everything to walk out there knowing that bliss beyond our wildest expectation could be waiting for us? All we really need to do take is that first step of faith and be willing to be open and honest and actually put ourselves out there? Can we successfully get rid of our jaded attitude and be less skeptic?
Who decides how valuable we are and why should we leave that in another person’s hand? Shouldn’t we live life with no regret, with no backward glance wondering what we could have done different. Shouldn’t we live each moment as if it were our last, with every second counting to the real countdown, trusting that when its time to go we’ll be ready?
We then go back to the unaffected simplicity, the ease with which we met different people and welcomed them into our hearts, without wondering what else they wanted from us. Back to giving all we could give without worrying about payback or the two way street we should be on in any relationship? The Bible does say that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Do we really live by this principle in this day and age, if we do, how easy is it? Our environment is extremely perverse and encourages resistance to good, embracing difference in the negative sense instead of looking for the good in all situations.
With that good luck out there and try to truly love the people around you!

Look out for ‘The power of the mind’ next week, inspired by our dear brother Ken ‘Sweety’ Jayala in Fallujah, Iraq – see you soon and God bless.