I Believe in Love

It has been a very interesting weekend that has left me pondering some of my beliefs. My beliefs get challenged often times simply by getting exposed to others, their ideas, beliefs, practices, experiences, lives. Something deep within me, more often than not, simply disagrees with many ideas. But, I am at a constant challenge with myself to live those ideals.

One idea that I believe in is loyalty. I don't believe in just being friends in the moment. I don't believe in simply being friends because it is convenient. I am not perfect at this by any stretch of the imagination. But once friends, true friends, always friends. I believe that love is eternal.

I have heard, over and over, people say that their friendships are a calculation, a formula, a scale, and when it gets too hard, they walk away. I understand this view, but I disagree. I understand walking away from abuse, manipulation, and malicious intentions, but to walk away mid-tragedy...that I don't agree with.

Furthermore, I have watched, time after time, that when people go through a really hard spot, they find themselves abandoned by people who they thought were true friends. I really, really hope that I will never be one of those friends. But, inevitably I will let someone down, I am sure. But, there is something about watching a friend suffer with depression, death, mistakes, prison, anorexia, lack of employment, loss of a child, that in my mind, requires sacrifice and an increase in love.

Also, I do believe in love, marital love, family love, friendship love. I believe it is real, tangible, a power in life that goes deeper than any of us really comprehend. I believe that marriages can be glowingly happy; I've seen it. I am the product of it. I know it is possible for me. I believe couples can stay dedicated to each other in the face of short comings, disease, cancer, accidents, faults, most everything. I believe that criticism does not have to be an inevitable part of marriage and I do believe that marital love can be very, very sweet.

I believe that families can love and respect each other deeply. I guess I should say, it is more than a belief, it is knowledge. I know these things are and can be real. I believe that one man can be satisfied by one woman and vice versa. I believe in purity, chastity, and morality - not as a stick to beat people by, but as a support, a loyalty to another, a commitment to another human being, a family unit, a segment of society.

I love the feeling of love that comes for me after a long conversation with friends and family members. And that may be a really cheesy thing to write on a blog...but it is true. I love the feeling of warmth, brightness...and that quiet humility that comes from really connecting with someone. That quiet knowledge that I need to be better, because I love.

I believe in the perfecting quality of love, that it demands the very best from us. If we really have it, we willingly give the best we have for others because we desire the best for them. Sacrifice comes willingly and without compulsion. Love is a driving force for good.

I believe that people are irreplaceable. I believe in brothers, sisters, children, babies, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends...and that it has the potential to be all that we ever dreamed it could be.

These beliefs are just a part of me. They always have been. I think that something in me will always believe, and if that belief weakens through experiences of life, then I will always have hope, a very real hope, that these things are and can be real. I really have no idea where my life will take me. I could find myself in a war-torn country someday where damaging abuse has happened on a wide scale. I could live in a place where no one believes in love. I have, actually, already lived in a place where love is not as abundant as it is in the U.S. But, despite all that is said or done, I do believe in love. I believe in generating love. And if none of these things are or can be, then my existence is futile.