Friday, December 21, 2007

You'll know the Title When You Read The Post

You all may be wondering why I said that... because I'm going to talk about a very very very sensitive topic (Maybe not to you, but to me it is one). I'm going to talk about something called Love. I may not be the right person or in the right position to teach you or tell you how to love someone or something correctly, but I just wanted to share my views on Love. You'll disagree or agree with me, but it'll be good if people who read this can give me some comments.

I'm sure that many thoughts came into your mind (or at least my mind) when you first see the word "Love". Let me share with you about something I read in Paulo Coelho's book, "The Pilgrimage". It's a very good book. I'm recommending everyone to read. There is a particular chapter which gives a pretty interesting explanation on love.

In the book, they talk about the three forms of love, namely "Eros", "Philos" and "Agape". Stranger to these words? These are the three greek words which represents Love. What I'm about to say is mostly lifted from the book, I am not so smart to write that myself.

They say that Eros is the love which exists between two people. The feeling of love which exists in couples and maybe teenage crushes. The face of Eros is never the same between two persons, and Eros can go both ways. The people in love can either feel that they have something special between them, and they feel that together they can build something special and meaningful. They believe that their love will grow and even though they have arguments or troubles, they will never be unhappy.

On the other hand, the love between a couple can go a completely different way. The guy will miss having relationships with other woman and the girl may also feel the same. They may also feel that they have given up their successful career and future to be together with a guy. They begin to feel robbed of their ability to express love. In this case, Eros, the spirit which joins them together, is the same spirit which will tear them apart and transform into hatred and unhappiness.

Another point that the book says is that when a couple do not let themselves to be affected by hypocrisy and external factors, they begin to look like working people. hunger and need have required them to work together and they find the power of love in the work they do. It is then that Eros shows its most beautiful face, as it is united with the face of Philos, love in a form of friendship, the love between friends. Philos is what brings people together when the Eros between couples stop burning. Friendship+Love.... Hmm...Something that I'll be reflecting and thinking about.

The thrid and final form of Love, Agape, which is described in the bible as "Self-Sacrificing, active and thoughtful love". The book says that Agape is the highest form of love, the love which consumes. The Love which consumes makes everything else lose their importance. People who experience Agape lived just to be consumed by their Love. When people love and believe from the bottom of their hearts, they feel that they seemed to be stronger than anyone in the world, and they feel a serenity that is based on the certainity that nothing else can shake their faith. This is what we experience everyday. Whether the love of doing something or achieving something, to the feeling of Loving someone else, we all feel that we can do everything, anything so that they can feel our love. We feel that we are ready to sacrifice anything to succeed, even our money and time, which can be a precious thing to many people nowadays. We are consumed by love and nothing else is important to us except the love which burns inside us and also the love which the guy/girl has for you.

Well, that is the end of the quotes from the book. If you take note and observe carefully, the three forms of Love revolves around you everyday. Like the sacrifices you have made for your friends, your work, or everything you do. As they alway say, " Love is all around". Maybe we just fail to notice it when we become too involved in our busy schedules. Take some time off to reflect on the things which happened to you. Sometimes you can actually see that the bond you share between your friends is actually the most beautiful form of love which exists between people. Maybe that makes you treasure your friendship even more.

Love is a beautiful thing, and it definately involves something more than just "liking" someone. So... spend some time everyday to think and give thanks for the Love that you have between your friends, families and teachers. You may just see things from a different and a more positive point of view after some time. Remember, Love is all around you, take some time to notice and feel it. The world could just be a better and happier place for you. Thanks a lot for reading this!

1 comment:

Elki said...

You are right...there are many different forms of love..think deeper and we'll feel love all around us. Sometimes i feel like the Philos kind of love is real wonderful.Friendship and love being combined together...sublimate to another level already.=]
A thoughtful and nice one=]