It’s the lightning bolt that strikes you when you least expect it; it’s the slow burning incense that curls and drifts and charms. It is the unconditional love of a mother for her child; it’s the conditional love of a child for their mother. Paternal love, fraternal love, love thy neighbour and love thy enemy. It evolves, it transforms, it ebbs and it flows; but it is and it will always be the heart of life.
It’s the agonising not knowing, the awkward come-ons, the churning of your stomach, the thumping in your chest that reverberates in your ears. It’s the spilling of one’s heart in a rush of nausea and desperation. It’s the cracking of a dream, the first broken heart, the unrequited tragedy; the tears in pillows; the empty, colourless days in the aftermath of disaster. It’s hated and ignored and suppressed and refused. Rejected and neglected it becomes fear and hatred. It is replaced with synthetic emotions, synthetic drugs, synthetic relationships; but it’s always there, deep down.
It is the universal truth that love is all and if all could love openly and generously, the world would be a better place.
It’s the at-last-moment; it’s what you’ve been waiting for. It’s easy and it’s right and it makes sense. It is warmth; it is under-the-blanket moments; it is holding hands in public. Breakfasts and sleepovers; driving late at night, coming home early in the morning. It is crashing plates and loud voices and it is resolutions and promises and commitments. It is the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It is orgasmic and it is dismal. It is easy, yet it is a constant struggle. It is a friendship, a partnership; it is standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder, to meet the challenges of life together. It is support, respect, nurture. It is sacrifice, compromise, torture. It is a decision; a choice; a maturing and an understanding. It is placing someone above yourself; it is letting someone else place you above all else.
It is the basis of all religions, all ethics, of all. It is the future and it is here today with us, between two of my dearest friends.
