Well-seasoned Love
After some time spent being single it’s easy to begin wondering “Is there a light at the end of this miserable tunnel?” Bad dates, bad lines and bad nights sleeping alone can really take it out of a person’s will to keep on looking.
Likewise being in a relationship can get old as well. Bad fights, bad decisions and bad nights sleeping alone while in the bed with someone equally make you question the existence of that light. The point here being, at some point we all just get tired of love. Having it, not having it, having too little or too much of it: no matter what your status you can get burned out. So why do we all continue on trying to find it, keep it or nurture it?
My hypothesis is that it’s because of old people. Well, more appropriately, well-seasoned love. Most people have had that older couple in their family that acts as a shining example of what love can become after decades of dedication to one another. At the very least we’ve all seen that old couple in the park, mall or just in public in general that help each other walk to the car, overcome the obstacle that is a curb when you’re that age, or simply look at each other in a way that translates into years of love to the on-looker. That’s what we’re all after down deep I believe. It’s not about sex, bodily desires or the want of fame or fortune. Those things, though their pull might be quite strong, are not what make up a lifetime full of love. Well-seasoned love is not about lust, it’s about dedication to another person more so than you even have to yourself. It might one day become changing their diapers (and believe me, what you used to think was a cute butt ain’t so cute during that endeavor), helping them take every single step every day or feeding them their every meal. Adversely it might mean swallowing your pride and having them take care of you in those ways. With a divorce rate over 50% of all marriages, it’s hard to believe that well-seasoned love can still exist for the younger generations. Perhaps we should stop thinking of it as a thing that happens to us and start considering it a thing we make. You can make well-seasoned love, especially if you find the right person on a decent dating site. You don’t inherit it and it certainly doesn’t fall right in your lap. It’s made, nurtured and sometimes even endured.