“I am going to sit here with you by the river. If you go home to sleep, I will sleep in front of your house. And if you go away, I will follow you — until you tell me to go away. Then I’ll leave. But I have to love you for the rest of my life.” – Paulo Coelho
There are many forms of love. There are four kinds according to C.S. Lewis in his book The Four Loves — Storge, Philia, Eros and Agape. Storge means affection often existing among family members and relatives; Philia for friendship; Eros for romance and Agape is a love that brings forth caring regardless the circumstance.
Today, I have come to discover that unconditional love resides in me despite my consistent nonchalance, my “no-reply” to texts or my pure lack of showing emotions and concern. In my life, there are certain people who I love in this unfathomable way.
My love for my family does not merely exemplify affection (or Storge) — it is a down-to-the-core kind of love wherein no kind of circumstance could make me turn away from them. This is a big claim. I see families being torn apart, siblings hating each other because of differences and disagreements, children hating their parents for being control freaks or whatnots. I will, however, remain true to this unconditional feeling of loyalty, of deep concern (which may or may not be explicit) and of defending them to death. Of having to love them for the rest of my life. No matter what.
Same goes with my certain set of friends who I consider closest to me. That despite distance and time separating us, despite complicated situations happening in our lives which may or may not be agreeable to the things we each believe in, I will always put in a pedestal the treasured moments that bonded us together from the very start of our friendship and remember that this too, is for better or for worse, within reason and beyond. It is very seldom that you see this kind of friendship. I am one lucky girl.
Lastly, the kind of love Venus promotes — Eros. My relationship with my husband transcends romance. It is affection. It is friendship. It is fondness and familiarity. Sometimes it is spoiled and abusive, not physically and not in a bad way, mind you. It is fun and yes, it is caring regardless of circumstance. It is still subject to the test of time and I pray that it remains how it is now.
In closing, I think my life is near-perfection because of this. Some people may call me pretentious or a hypocrite. These people are bitter for they generally reject the possibility that someone can truly be happy probably due to their own dismal and miserable lives. I do not blame them.
Me? I am simply grateful that He keeps on blessing me with the love that He promised to give mankind. Love and be loved in return. And I am loved. Because of my family. Because of my friends. Because of my partner. I hope a lot of people feel the same way in their own lives as well. 🙂
