Love is..

I went to a wedding reception last night (Congrats Sandy and Clint!) and I couldn't help but notice the difference in myself than when the last wedding I went to. I almost feel like a reality check happened, like, a light bulb turned on. It's almost as if I realized that we have all been mislead and encouraged to misinterpret what it takes to find "love" and how couples find that genuine happiness that I saw in Clint and Sandy as they shared their special day with so many friends and family. It was so beautiful to see such a couple so in love and so involved with each other--to see two individuals who have made that promise of love.. who are at the right time in their lives to share that.

Anyway, the light bulb.

"Love is a decision--not an emotion." -Anonymous

I ran into that quote probably a little under a week ago, and it struck me like a ton of bricks. It is so true. Love is an openly, willingly, admitted decision of wanting to stick through the hard times with someone, a promise to still be by someone's side even when times get hard.. you might even say love is almost like a miniature version of marriage vows. Feelings are definitely associated with wanting to be there for someone, yet, actually acting upon it and following through isn't solely based on love. Now, I know love can mean a variety of things for everyone--but I truly believe that love isn't this magical power that somehow makes life that fairytale that we all grew up with.. (Ariel, Belle, Cinderella...you get the idea). But maybe the whole fairytale idea isn't so far off, as love is actually a fairytale-- like, a fib.. a little lie.. a secretly evolved feeling of happiness.. to help us all get through the day.
Love isn't only an attraction to someone, it's also about timing..where you're at in life and if you can puzzle piece your lives together to create one bigger, more detailed.. more beautiful picture. Love is like art. Sometimes people aren't ready to actually intertwine their paintings they have created on their own, which is why it doesn't work out... You can completely admire someones life... the time and dedication they put into creating such vivid colors in their picture or whatever it might be, but, it still might not feel right in mixing or pairing it with the painting of life you've created.
Love is so much more than just "love". It's almost unexplainable, and you can only truly realize what it is if you've been through some horrible situations to help you develop a knowledge base of experiences.. But, maybe that is only my reality or view because of all the challenging relationships I have been through--maybe people who only fall in love once still know the definition of love and have just as much of a hard time figuring out that love is work.
Now I don't want this blog to sound negative, because that is far from what I am trying to have it be. I am actually just writing from a very mature state of mind.. and it's amazing to me how many realities seem to just, slowly turn on in my mind.. those "ahh" moments, where you realize that this is what the "grown-ups" meant all along.

"All experience is an arch, to build upon." -Henry B. Adams