Love On The Mountaintop And In The Valley | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Relationships

Love On The Mountaintop And In The Valley

Love is a choice in the highs and the lows.

5
Love On The Mountaintop And In The Valley
Tumblr

In a day and age when love is so disposable, how it is even possible to put a definition on love? Too often, it gets complicated, a mess of feelings and emotions. The tricky thing is, feelings and emotions are not static. If you want a monumental, extraordinary type of love, the first step is to recognize that a relationship based on feelings and hormones is as steady as the castle built on sand.

Love isn't all butterflies or a blushing first kiss. Love isn't having your head swim after a night at the movies or a romantic letter. Love isn't even a sweet long goodnight text in paragraph form. Those things certainly are wonderful, and I myself am a hopeless romantic through and through. I swoon at "The Notebook," and I dream of rose petals and love poems. I delight in romantic gestures, and I think they are a lovely part of any relationship, but they are not what makes the love real.

Love is a choice. You don't wake up one morning and fall out of love with a person. Every day, you make a choice to love that person just as deeply, truly and madly as you loved them the day before. If love wasn't a choice, I don't think it would be all that special. After all, it wouldn't be their choice to be with you. Love isn't left up to the fates to whom it falls upon. I think one reason "falling in love" is so easy of a thing to say is it's too real, too painful to accept the alternative: that you consciously make the decision to commit yourself or walk away every day. It's easier that way. Once you see the not-so-pretty side of a person, it's easier to say you just don't love them anymore, and you can't help it.

You see, I've seen the good and the bad. I've seen the tears of joy and the tears of pain. I've seen the mountaintops and the valleys. I've felt deep joy and hurt. Love isn't going to be wonderful all the time. It will be ugly and messy, and the person that you were once smitten with is going to show you a different side. And you need that. You need to see every facet of a person if you are committed to them. You need to know what they look like when tragedy strikes, they've hit rock bottom and depression sets in. You need to know what they look like when their patience has been tested and they are filled to the brim with stress. You need to know them in debt, in anger, in loneliness, in a jealous fit, in fear, in the dark. You need to walk with them in the shadows to bask with them in the light.

Every single on of us has an ugly side. It's the side we don't show to the world. If we did, who would ever love us? Commitment to a person's beauty along with their flaws is love. Being there in the midst of the darkness and the deep valleys is what makes the light on the mountaintop even more amazing. Your choice to commit, to help, to serve and to guide this person is what defines love. It's not giving up when the road gets hard. It's wrapping their arm around your shoulder and carrying their burden for a while. It's recognizing that life is tough and people are human. Life is so much more beautiful when you wake up every morning and choose to love that charming, messy, impatient, marvelous person who puts a smile on your face on the mountaintops and in the valleys.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
girl holding phone
NYCPRGIRLS

Now that it seems “talking” is the new way to date, and will stay that way until another idiotic term is used to describe the people who can’t settle down and just date someone, I feel as if it’s time to go over the unwritten rules of “talking.”

Rule 1. Having feeling without feeling.

Keep Reading...Show less
The Stages of Having FOMO in College
iamthatgirl.com

Are you one of those people that gets super upset when you miss out on anything? Well, you may have FOMO, or fear of missing out. In college it’s not hard to experience FOMO every once in a while. You just love doing everything and anything, so hen you have to miss out on something it's the worst possible thing in your mind. Whether you’re sick, have to work, or have so much work to do you could cry – FOMO will hit you hard in college.

Keep Reading...Show less
Vivien Leigh
Revelist

I've lived a whole 21 years with an RBF (Resting Bitch Face), so naturally, I go through most of these struggles on a daily basis.

And before you ask, yes I'm fine. No, I'm not mad. This is just my face, so take it or leave it! To those of you who have been #blessed with an RBF, you'll probably relate to these more than you'd like to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Iconic Duos: Timeless Legends

From Luke and Leia to Beyonce's twins...

774700
Luke and Leia from Star Wars, a iconic duo
Lucasfilm

“Name a more iconic duo... I'll wait." OK, well, if you insist. In no particular order, here's a list of 100 iconic duos that seem to be timeless.

SEE MORE: This Is The ICONIC Disney Sidekick You Are To Your BFF, According To Your Zodiac Sign

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

A Candid Letter to My Best Friends Ex

Because this is the real form of torture you deserve.

932
middle finger
Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

What's up Asshat,

I've composed a list of things that I wish upon you, and they're harsh and cruel. These things are things that I wouldn't wish upon my worst of enemies, not even that Starbuck's barista who always screws up my order, not even him. You fall into a whole other category of hate. You surpass Starbucks barista. Congratulations, I'm actually a pretty nice person, making you worthy of every single bit of torture I wish upon you. What are these things I wish upon you you might ask?

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments