The necessity of tests and trials

As fall creeps in with it's bone chilling grip and the leaves drip from the trees to wash the walk with bright hues of red and orange I cannot help but dream and wish to freeze time and live in this moment for just a second longer. The seasons change and the moon cycles, life and death beget life again and the world turns despite our trivial issues. The beauty of time continues with fierce forward momentum, spinning us into a dizzy dance just to keep up the pace. We are as the seasons, ever changing and cyclical in our emotions and passions in life.

They say nobody is perfect until you love them. As young infatuation blossoms, children begin with teasing and pranks because they are too shy to find any other connection with their peers than conflict. After all, conflict is a good reason to interact with others that requires a proactive confrontational reaction from all parties involved so it guarantees that, whether good or bad, they will have the attention they desire. Soon, however, they grow to realize attraction warrants a more gentile approach than pulling hair and throwing mud clumps at each other. Where once there were rocks there are now roses. Where once there was harassment there are now love letters left anonymously on car windshields, clutched by the fingers of wiper blades. Oh, to be young again.

There will come times when we endure the gut wrenching emotions that come with loss of the heart's desire. When love is not reciprocated we feel so lost, so vulnerable. We feel our worlds crash and gravity sends us into oblivion. We curse the very concept of love, the thought that anything can ever last forever, we refute the idea that love is worth the pain. We grieve and weep in sorrow, but this time is quite healing for the heart. It teaches us humility and humbles us, provided we clear our eyes long enough to see those rays of light between the teardrops.

Heartache is not the end for us. It is the beginning of a time when we truly grow in wisdom from these experiences. Everything happens for a reason, even when that reason makes no sense at first. We may wonder why we had to hurt to learn to be strong but if we are never weak how can we appreciate our shining moments most of all? This is like asking how could we ever wish on falling stars if all we ever had was day. Its just not possible.

Love is profound in nature, strong enough to create nations and heal all hurt in time. It helps us to live together in harmony with the common goal to share in happiness, to selflessly seek to see others happy. It requires trust, loyalty, devotion, but most of all love calls for constant hard work and effort to nurture it into being. Love is not a guarantee and must be earned, for love without effort is superficial lust.

Love is fragile and can easily break apart when we fail to attend to the needs of those we care most for. It is not selfish and does not seek to cause pain to others. When love is present the influence radiates to the world around it, teaching acceptance and kindness to others. If we love with open eyes we are aware that love is not perfect. It can be messy and chaotic but it can also be so sweet and life changing in it's magnitude.

There are consequences to all our actions in life, and love is no exception to this rule. When we love we take the risk of having our hearts crushed. We give ourselves over, body and soul, to another in hopes they will keep us safe and cherish us always. Sometimes love does not work and we must learn from these moments. Love never fails for we never lose our capacity to love. While we may feel the pain of it's loss we must never give up trying.

Communication plays a great role in the success of love for without this we can never truly know another person for who and what they are. While on the outside we may seem made of skin and sinew, on the inside we are emotional machines that require constant upkeep. People change constantly, evolving socially and emotionally, learning and failing and then learning from our mistakes. If we are to ever love at all we must accept that people change and not fight against this. We must learn to accept that nobody is perfect and find the beauty in imperfection.

When I see the rain fall on an autumn day I remember my heartaches past, how I would sit and weep for hours and curse the sky for letting my heart feel, and I would avow to never allow my heart the chance to break again. Rain doesn't fall forever. Skies are not always gray, leaves are not always red and orange and days are not always cold. While snow may fall, do not mourn the death of summer. Rejoice in the beauty of a snowball.