One of my favorites quotes for a
long time has been, ‘The world is full of mediocre things, don’t make love one
of them’. I have found that there are others too who have quoted something on
similar lines and so here it doesn’t really matter who actually said it initially
or who the quote should be attributed to. The bottom-line is it has a universal
appeal and is an inspiration in itself.
The quote, its words convey a
thought, a sentiment and a meaning with depth that holds love as one of the
most special emotions of the world. This is, of course, true whether it is
acknowledged or not, mentioned or not, said out aloud or not.
Moving away, for the moment, from
romantic love which is maybe the most acknowledged and spoken about kind of
love, I would like to ponder on the various other possibilities of love. It is
as vast as the sky itself and I believe, if, as the quote says, we don’t, due
to our hectic schedules or whatever other reasons, make love a mediocre
feeling, it can make the world a better place to live in. On one hand it can
bring about a worldly closeness and understanding and on the other, it can enhance
a personal satisfaction of loving and being loved in return.
Love is a feeling that is not
underrated but is surely less acknowledged and less appreciated. It is taken
for granted in most cases. There are too many kinds of love than can be
counted. Actually, love can be felt for all. Both animate and inanimate. People,
places, plants, animals and nature. Humans
and animals have the tendency to love and value love.
One of the simplest examples is a
dog’s faithfulness for his master. Does that faithfulness come without love? In
return, the master’s acute affection for his pet! Is that possible without
love? I remember our pet dog’s anguish when dad passed away. The Labrador just
wouldn’t let anyone take dad away and he had to be chained to a grill at the
verandah to move the body. Later on, he wouldn’t move away from the bed for
months and nothing could coax him out of his grief.
Similarly, I remember a family
friend who was broken down with sadness and had spent thousands or Rupees in
the treatment of his Alsatian which had cancer and looked after it with
ultimate devotion until its last breath. That is the emotion called love and it
can only be felt. Love in the heart does make one richer.
We know of love in various forms.
We have the patriotic kind of love, the examples of which roll in one after
another in our history books. The love between siblings, parents, friends,
colleagues and so on only enable us to have a better understanding of ourselves
and of others, allow for a tolerance to be bred that is very much necessary to
make this world a better place to live in.
After all, what does one really
want at the end of the day? Something to be smiling about? Does riches and
success really have the capacity to bring in a true smile unless love is in the
vicinity, in whatever form?
In Soulmates Never Part, there is
a portion of the story where Sheila has attained success as per her standards
but is she able to really enjoy what she has. Is she able to go to bed with a
smile and wake up looking forward eagerly to the next day?
I do think we need to give a
thought to love in its many forms. It would make us better human beings and help
make this world a lovelier place to live in.
