Everyday Love

"Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well."

-Vincent van Gogh

After a stormy year filled with conflict and confusion, I've realized that I've underestimated the subtleties of love.

Unfortunately in today's age the idea of "love" has been over-dramatized, over-sexualized, and blown into gargantuan proportions of splendor and decadence. When someone mentions love we tend to get the image of little pink and red hearts floating in the air stuck in our heads, or on the other side of the penny, we imagine the despair and dread of unfulfilled love. However, in this flood of intense emotion and passion, we often forget where love lies most often in our lives. While we all crave a personal relationship with that special someone, we forget the innumerable relationships of love that we partake in everyday. Whether it's the love portrayed in a sister's laugh, or the love behind a friend's attempt at cheering you up, these small acts of love seem to be forgotten in the face of the unattainable ideal depicted in the movies, books, and shows that surround us.

I cannot in any way claim to be immune from the grandiose dreams of the perfected love, but I think we should all take a minute to come down to earth, and instead of idealizing what could be, we should appreciate what we have in front of us everyday.

This love I speak of isn't always blatant, intentional, or obvious. Instead it comprises the subtle strands of support that get us through each day, even through each heart break. It is this love that maintains its purity and innocence. This is the love that deserves to be celebrated and embraced.

So this marginal little post is my way of thanking all of my support systems that go unnoticed and overlooked. On days like these I realize the love that goes into every conversation with a friend, every smile from a brother. You don't have to quote-on-quote "love" a person for love to exist between you. Love can exist between two complete strangers. In my opinion, it's love that prompts a student in a hallway to help a stranger pick up their fallen papers, or prompts a person to smile in the face of depression. Love, when you really think about it, surrounds us in every act we make in life.

Surely, love doesn't always manifest itself positively. That's where tough love comes in; tough love and criticism from family members or peers. Yet it's all love. When someone cares, they take the time to reprimand you or bring you back up on your feet. Taking the time out of our busy lives to truly pay attention and engage another person can easily (in my eyes) be classified as love. So, all I ask of you now is to think of all the love that surrounds you. If you deny its existence, you aren't looking hard enough.

This post isn't to downplay the beauty of romantic love, but it is instead to remind us of the "everyday love". It's like reminding members of bourgeois society that peasants still roam the streets. Without the peasants, the upper classes couldn't function. Without the underlying support of our everyday interactions and our brief personal connections, we couldn't experience true romantic love.

So, whether you're at a point where love hurts, or love heals, remember all the love that is waiting to envelop you at each bright spot, each corner, and every shadow of your life.

Love,
L. Soleil