Love Is Enough

does love mean never having to say you're sorry?

The infamous line from Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal in the 1970 weepy, Love Story, states -- "Love means never having to say you're sorry."

Once again we have sweeping advice about love and romance from Hollywood...advice that is just really terrible and only sustainable if your ill-fated "love story" ends before it really begins. Ali MacGraw's Jenny is dead at 25! Ryan's Oliver grieves for about twenty minutes or until Candice Bergen appears during Oliver's Story.

John Lennon, on the other hand, is quoted as saying, "Love means having to say you're sorry every five minutes."

I happen to agree with John on this one, but it's taken me a very long time to get here. 

listen to your heart

Love is not logical. 

That is one thing I've come to know with middle age. I have tried to use logic, but lately, thank god, my heart gets in the way. My head has begun to lose many arguments...and that's a good thing.

My head tells me it's illogical to think you can love one person your entire life. My head tells me it's stupid to think two people can grow in love at exactly the same pace. My head tells me face the facts, people change, life gets in the way, love ebbs. My head tells me, be realistic, there are millions of people out there...what makes you think you've found "the one"?

My heart tells me....listen....and you will know the answer.

love immersion

How do we immerse ourselves in a loving attitude?

I try to do it by getting up each and every day and making a concentrated effort to be more loving to myself and others. The hope is I will start my day off each day on a positive note. If I can do that, hopefully I will be able to handle whatever the day throws at me, and I will be able to do so in a calm and loving manner.

However, like I've said repeatedly, I'm still a Student of Love who needs constant and consistent practice, so it's not easy and I'm no Mother Teresa. I am, hopefully, someone who is growing beyond the limitations of ego enough that I have more loving moments each day than I used to have.

becoming a student of love

"It is never too late to be what you might have been."
George Eliot

One of my strengths in this life is that I am a good student. I observe well, listen well, and take phenomenal notes. I love reading so I am an excellent researcher and can immerse myself in many topics of interest.  And more than that, I do well when tested, because I generally can slog through the mass of materials presented and hone in on the salient points of interest.

And yet, I feel I would fail a test on love.  It is a subject I should be well-versed in, and yet, I'm not sure I've ever really grasped the subject completely.

Is it too late for me to become a STUDENT of LOVE?