Some years ago, while writing in my journal, I realised that love is like a diamond. Just like a diamond, it has many facets, and each facet is as unique and beautiful as each of the others. When seen as one, a diamond is a truly beautiful thing to behold. Each facet complements the other so that seen apart the diamond fails to reveal its true magnificence.
As humans, we are individually unable to see all the facets of love at one time. We tend to see only what resonates with us at that moment. Hence, we can never witness its full beauty. Each of us has a bend toward one way of seeing life and this limits our experience of love.
In my case, in the early years I focussed only on the compassionate side of love because of the psychological pain I was experiencing. Later in life I learned that love can also give me courage to overcome personal challenges. As a result, I chose to have three surgeries to remove excess flesh after weight loss. I was terrified at the time, but the strength I experienced helped me face it and it increased my experience of compassion, understanding and tenderness. This broadened and deepened my understanding of love.
We tend to focus on one facet to the point of error in our understanding of love. Generally, men emphasise strength and courage, whereas women emphasise compassion and tenderness. But love is all these things at once. For me, it is strong when I am facing challenges in my life, and tender in times of emotional pain and, as in the story above it can be all these things at once.
Love is like a diamond; it has many facets. Each of these facets are as unique and beautiful as the other. However, they are the most beautiful when viewed as a whole. The more we embrace love, the clearer these facets are. The less we embrace it, the more focussed we are on one facet and therefore experience a distorted view of life. Our rigidity of beliefs filters out the beauty of love and we are left with a limited experience of life and the world around us.
As someone who had a distorted experience of love in her early years, I know the importance of viewing it as openly as possible. My close friends have given me a different perspective and helped me mature in the process.
What is your experience of love?
In love, Jenny
