Love Story

If you want to be happy, be."- Leo Tolstoy

I have yet to read War and Peace  or Anna Karenina.  Both novels, masterpieces of Leo Tolstoy, wait anxiously for my arrival and flip of their pages.  Although I have yet to begin the journey of Tolstoy's world, it doesn't take much for me to comprehend the importance of love in his work.

With every quote I have ever stumbled upon of Tolstoy's, my favorite of all is:

"Love is life. All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists, only because I love. Everything is united by it alone. Love is God, and to die means that I, a particle of love, shall return to the general and eternal source."

Wow!  To capture the essence of love like that, is beyond me, yet his words speak so true to my heart and the love I have traveled with throughout my life.

I've always been that person who loves everything there is about love.  I like to imagine that before I was born, God traveled into my tiny soul and blessed me with a heart that could sustain bulks of love, but that's only my opinion.  No matter how I came to possess this wonderful heart of mine, I feel lucky regardless.

Love in the sky.

I've come to learn over the years and relationships I have been in, that love is so much more than what movies, songs and people portray it to be.  For me, love means knowing how to be a friend; a real kick-you-in-the-ass type of friend who never shies from the truth.  Even with love involved in the mix of almost every relationship, friendship should always remain.  

Other variables such as laughter, honesty, dedication, courage, motivation and belief, help to mold the foundation of love together.  Sometimes without these and other important factors, we tend to lose sight of what real love really means.  

Love is not a fairytale.  There are no princesses waiting to be saved or princes dropping everything to rescue them.  Love can be happy and sad, hilarious and incredibly hard, but immensely worth it in the end.

I have several hopes for my future, but for now I like to stay in the present moment.  I look around all that has become of my life till now and I feel content. I've found that keeping an open and positive mind, allows me to let down some of the guards I've been carrying around for years.  It allows me to see clearly, the things I once was blinded from.  Meditation helps too. :)

My love story is unlike anyone's, but that's how love should always be.  Every love is different from the next; it's what you make of it that truly matters.

One other thing I've learned from love--patience and perseverance are key.  I love my life and I adore how love has changed who I am and what I believe in, in all the best ways.  

"Patience and Perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."- John Quincy Adams

Truth.