Love. Have you felt that before? Have you ever had that wonderfully euphoric sensation rupture your entire body with pleasure and pain? Have you ever felt that? If you're unsure, I think I've found a way to look at exactly what love is.
So many people these days say, "I love you," but most of the time they don't even think about what they've just said. They don't fully realize what that means and how much power it holds.
It's become an abused phrase and it can be very dangerous if it isn't genuine. Do you know exactly what it means to the other person when you say, "I love you?" Do you know what it means to you? How are you able to tell when "like" turns into "love?" I mean, knowing when that happens is a big deal. Not everyone is lucky enough to feel such a thing in their lifetime.
The following story is, hopefully, a useful tool to help you take a good look at the person you think you love and determine whether or not that love is real.
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Here's a bizarre scenario for you:
Let's say, everyone is going to die. It's the apocalypse. A meteor collision, tsunami, solar flare or a nuke war. You know, something creative like that. All you know is that death is here, it's now, and it won't stop until you're dirt. So, because you now know of this dreadful truth, all you can do is count the hours, minutes and seconds until it happens.
Now, amidst all the chaos and depression caused by your imminent doom, you amazingly find that besides you, there is this...person. This one, single, person. One special person so mesmerizing that whenever you see them, you find your heart beating like a fucking jackhammer. It's a person who makes you feel like it's about to burst from your chest like Ridley Scott's "Alien."
Can you see them? Close your eyes for a second. Can you picture that person in your head?
I think you can.
Now, with death at your doorstep, in your last precious moments, you spend every second with this one person. Together. You sit on the edge of your bed with the door locked and the windows shut, allowing the two of you to be the only people on this dying Earth for just a moment.
You wrap your arms around their body, holding them close and holding them tight. And they'll wrap their hands around those arms you've laid in front of them, and they hold on even tighter, never letting you go. You'll then lean forward and place your chin on their shoulder, with their head next to yours. You feel each other breathe in...and out. Your heartbeats have become in sync with each other. They beat as one.
You look into their eyes, and they look right back into yours. You feel empowered. You feel as if holding them in your arms creates a wall; a shield, blocking out all of the horrible shit in the world. You come to realize that it's all okay. It's okay that you're gonna die. It's okay that the world is gonna die. It's okay that it'll fucking explode, just like that. Gone in the blink of an eye.
Why? Why do you feel that way?
Because you realize that if their body is the last thing you're ever going to feel, their scent is the last thing you'll ever smell, their eyes are the last things you'll ever see, then dying won't seem so bad anymore.
I think that's what love should feel like. When a person can make you forget all of the terrible stuff. They make you feel like nothing can touch you. No pain, no fear, no loss. Not even a meteor can touch you. All they do is leave you in trance at just how beautiful they are.
You're with this one person in the end of all things, holding them so close to you...and you're gonna die...
...but you're okay with that.
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Can you say that for the person you're with now?