Readiness
Looking out the window and examining the people walking around the streets of NYC makes me think about all the experiences that people have, all of the questions they will never get the answers to, all of the feelings left behind, and all of the love they’ve given in this experience we call life. It’s amazing that we all get to experience a life that is unique to us. We get to decide where we live, what we believe, and who we love. Love is the topic for today because I’ve been wondering lately if someone can be ready for love, or if love is just something that will truly sweep you away when it is ready to.
I have been in long-term relationships, I have been in situationships, and I’ll eventually experience the short-term love that comes with being a single, successful, and attractive individual in a large urban area. I long for lasting, healthy, and soft love that fosters intimacy seen only in the oldest of romance movies, or between the old couple you see every once in a while walking through the park. I am a lover. I am a man who wants to soothe, protect, and empower the people around me, especially my partner in this life. All this thinking leaves me asking the question: am I ready for love? Do I need to be ready for it?
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I have no concrete conclusion on this question, but I have some thoughts. I believe people can be ready for love, but does that mean you need to be ready for love before jumping in? I think not.
Love is one of those things that you experience through the act of giving it. As both an action and a feeling, love is something to practice. When you go out and choose to love, you risk being hurt. That risk will sometimes come to fruition, and pain will follow. On the other side of that risk, though, is a beautiful, indescribable feeling that I believe we all have the capacity to experience. Love is something so strong yet so fragile that it’s hard to even describe in words. Love is, in itself, almost a contradiction. Love can be long, but it can also be, and often is, short. Love is pain, but love is also soothing. Love is rare, but love is also abundant. Describing love provides no value because I believe it cannot be accurately described. Adding to the ambiguity, you KNOW when you love someone. You feel it. You do it. You become it.
So how could someone be ready for the indescribable?
You are never ready for love, but you are always deserving of it. You are always able to experience love just by choosing to give it. So my answer to the question is yes and no. Love is not something you have to be ready for; love is something you’re ready for.
