It’s silly to think that there is only one person in the entire universe that is specifically meant for you. It’s not silly to think, however, that there are multiple people out there that you can love and fall in love with. The multiplicity is scary for some. The one that you love now may not be the one you always love. There could be another. And another after that. So how is a person to know who they should marry, who they should love for the rest of their life… how is one to know?

I don’t know, and I am not here to answer that question. I am here because I believe that multiplicity should not be feared, but embraced. Every person that you encounter, every person you fall in love with, has something to teach you, has something to show you. How beautiful a concept. How hopeful.

When you fall in love with someone, your heart feels full and happy. You are consumed with them, with your love for them, with their love for you. But when that love runs out, the pain of a broken heart ensues. It’s easy to become bitter, to call off all future love. But just because it’s easy, it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. There is a Dr. Seuss quote, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” That quote is hard to remember when you are heartbroken, but when you remember the memories, the joy that your love gave you…it’s hard to cry. Then you can start thinking about the love that you may encounter in the future. There is a continuation, a cycle. That should bring joy. Hope.

But what about lost love? This is the most daunting of all. The person you thought you could love or the person that you may have loved, but it’s just the wrong time, the love becomes lost. It’s lost because it wasn’t given a place to live, a place to fester and grow. It was cut-off before it was given a chance to seed, to germinate and to produce something more. Lost love is difficult, tricky. You are stuck in this mode of questioning. What ifs and what could haves start to pop up in your already confused mind, already jumbled heart. But, “What If” is a scary game to play, a hard game to play. Lost loves tend to be, from what I have observed, the hardest type of love to move on from, because there is no closure. There is always wonder, always curiosity as to how things could have been differently.

However, lost love, in my opinion, tends to be the most beautiful, the most morphed type of love. There is a certain fragility in exploring, “What ifs.” There is also a certain degree of romanticism with having a tight grip on hope when one wishes that they will end up with the one they love. Lost love is challenging love, it is not without its roadblocks. But I believe that it offers a lot of insight and wonder, which in turn is placed directly within one’s heart, where they can hold onto their dreams of finding their once lost love.

To those that have experienced lost love, or are currently experiencing lost love, I urge you to hold on. Just for a while longer. Lost love has a way of teaching you beautiful, unique things about yourself and the world around you. It hurts. A lot. The What Ifs will hit you in the middle of the night, but in the end, I have no doubt that it is worth it. After all, there is a chance that your lost love will find you in the end.