The Well-Beaten Path

This is something I wrote about for a class. I write about love a lot because it compels me so much.

Kindling the deepest of emotions, it moves with the swiftness of the wind and leaves one aching for more.  Burning passion, inexplicable joy, and heartbreak define it. . .love.  Shakespeare describes love as “a star to every wandering bark” (sonnet CXVI) and “a spirit all compact of fire. . .” (Venus and Adonis, line168).  Aristotle says, “Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies,” while others say it is a sadness crushing from every direction and nothing but pure heartbreak.  One emotion tied to so many different feelings.  No matter how one loves another, at some point, disappointment and pain seem inevitable.  This often leaves a question in the mind, a question that if answered perilously could lead to the destruction of our very selves: why love?

            When two people connect on a level higher than anything either has ever experienced, it is truly a miraculous relationship.  In the beginning there is friendship.  Trust evolves as the lines of communication are opened and compatibility is discovered.  Over time, a deep sense of care, the predecessor to love, develops and one has a hard time imagining one’s life without that person.  Eventually, the heart takes that death defying leap; the head-over-heel plunge into the unknown.  The result . . . love.  It can come in many ways like through friendship, family, or a romantic partner, but either way, love is love.

            There is one type of love that seems to be one of the main causes of ill feelings towards love.  If experienced, it often leaves the very soul to bleed.  It threatens one’s sanity to the point that one cannot fathom the difference between night and day, for the world is so dark.  It is the epitome of pain, confusion, and heartache. . .unrequited love.  Nothing is worse than loving someone without return.  No pill or special concoction can take away this type of hurt, only time and lots of it.  It isn’t easy having one’s heart so attached to someone, receiving nothing in return.  This type of love is so clearly demonstrated in Homer’s The Oddyssey, when Odysseus is trapped on the island of Ogygia with Calypso.  Calypso, who is a sea nymph, falls madly in love with Odysseus, keeps him, and promises to give him anything he would ever want, including eternal life.  He lives in paradise here for seven years, but is not happy.  He wants badly to see his wife and son again and sits out on the rocks of the island and cries for them.  Calypso is asked by Zeus to let Odysseus go and Calypso reluctantly agrees.  She eventually dies of grief after Odysseus leaves her (McCabe).  This type of love does truly seem to kill a part of one’s self.  One would never think that seeing the light in the darkness could prove to be such a struggle until experiencing unrequited love.

            When left scorned by love, one tends to give up all hope of finding it.  Trust becomes hard to give to another and a wall is constructed around the heart to prevent further damage.  This protection may help for some time; however, at some point, one has to learn to open up again and break down those walls of stone around the heart.  One cannot find love if love cannot find them.  If one is blocking love from entering, how can one expect it to be found?  Yes, putting one’s self out there for another has its risks and there is always the chance that one’s love will not be returned, but if that risk is not taken, life cannot truly begin.  If one goes through life always fearing the unknown and holding back because of it, then the possibility of knowledge, wisdom, and happiness is sacrificed to the winds. 

            The question of whether loving another or not is worth the chance, is up to each individual person.  However, life is too short to be unhappy and love, too rare to be pushed aside.  Be thankful for every second given and love as if tomorrow will never come. The future is never guaranteed, all that’s promised is this moment, right now.  As Guido Caspani, a very wise professor, once said, “If you leave this world and didn’t love, you have left this world empty handed.”

 

 

 

Bibliography

McCabe, Walter.  Calypso and Odysseus.  Calypso: A sea nymph and Odysseus (Romans – Ulysses.).  November 30, 2007.  October 1, 2008.  http://waltm.net/calypso.htm

 

Shakespeare, William.  Venus and Adonis.  About.com.  2008.  The New York Times.  October 6, 2008.  http://shakespeare.about.com/library/blvenus.htm

 

Aristotle.  Love quotes – famous quotes, quotations.  All Great Quotes.  2008.  Google.com.  October 6, 2008.  http://www.allgreatquotes.com/love_quotes142.shtml

 

Caspani, Guildo.

Reviews

[Kiara]

nice work LOVE is a strong word : )