by Joan Inong

Created on: January 29, 2009

When I was younger I always felt that being in love was synonymous with perfection: my significant other and I would never have fights; we would never yell at each other and we'd always smile through difficult times. Yet, as I grew older and as I mature into my current long-term relationship, I realize that happiness does not have to coincide with perfection, and neither does love.

I try not to get philosophical when I talk about love because I know that love has always been treated as a philosophical subject. I try to make it as casual as usual, but the problem is that I always insist that love should never be treated casually. At first this may make me seem like a hypocrite, but you'll see that love is multi-faceted and is always changing its nature. That's why love is such a wonderful feeling to experience and to have.

But, we always ask, "Is love enough?" I have asked myself this a few times, especially during the rougher times of my relationship. I wonder whether I am loving enough and whether I have given all that I could. I answer (about 99.9% of the time) that I do love enough and that I have given all that I could. However, I can always love more and I can always give more. That is the key to any lasting relationship; enough should never be enough.

I'll give the example of having pets. I have a wonderful, beautiful dog named Lucy, whom I took home a couple of days before my birthday two years ago during a time of depression. I knew that she would fill a special place in my heart. And, although I left for college when she was just several months old, I knew that she wouldn't forget me. And when I came home, I was proven correct. She looked and jumped on me as if I had never left. She loved me unconditionally.

So when I look on human love, I yearn for this natural unconditional love that something, such as a dog, can do even without language. When I entered into my current relationship with someone I had known for years, I knew that all I needed was love. If I had this, then it would be enough. I would not need money (though I can still want it), and neither would I need anybody else. Yet I realize that we should never have to ask this question, for true love reveals itself when we no longer ask it. When you know that you can always give more love (since the world truly needs more of it), then your eyes will open and you will see that you are in love.

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