AMOR

Love

What is love? 

Most of us have a prejudice that love is usually associated with a romantic relationship. It probably is because that is how society has approached this topic. In many conservative Indian households even uttering this dangerous word has many repercussions, but this isn’t about that. Many of us never really sit down and ponder what this word means to us. I aspire to be a person who puts creative thoughts into words not just to entertain people but to feel the satisfaction of happiness when someone else also identifies with these thoughts or appreciates them. And I come back to the simple yet nuanced question, what is love?

Love as it is can be seen anywhere and everywhere. We can see it in a parent waking up earlier than the household to cook the day’s meals, we can see it when they force us to have that god-awful milk believing it adds to our immunity, we can see love when fathers wake up early to drop us to school even though they went to bed late last night, we can see the love in friendships when they wait for you before going in even when you are late, we see the love in our daily lives so much that it goes to the back of our mind, where its existence is somehow forgotten.

Love is a strange language where the person who speaks it can only best hope the person they talk with understands it. Those little overlooked gestures speak so much sometimes. The extra ghee on your food, waking up with a blanket when you went to bed without one, taking you to that one place you have wanted to go to since forever, always coming to pick you up from wherever you are no matter how late it is, when your sibling takes the blame even though it was your fault, giving up that last piece of chocolate for you - these are some things that we see in our houses, within our close circle.

It isn’t easy to find love out in the world where you don’t know anyone, and yet we find ourselves often being showered with it. When someone lets you eat their favourite food, when they wait hours for you to turn up, when they search up that one thing you would absolutely love as a gift, when they spend all their pocket money for you, when they defend you in front of strangers or even their own people, when they are there for you when no one else is - this is familiar around our friends but have we ever thought of animal love? Or love for a baby we see every day in the park? Or the love of nature? Or sunsets or aesthetically pleasing phenomena?  

Love is everywhere and we are all so astray in this metropolitan globalized world we have lost the meaning of life. What is life without doing things that we love? What are you working so tediously for if you don’t stop to enjoy the little moments and cherish them? What have you done it all for? Every day I see so many, many people waking up and monotonously getting ready and heading to their institutions only to do the chores there in a robotic fashion and come back to engage themselves with a phone till they collapse on the bed with sleep. I see children too tired to go out and play, parents too tired to properly interact with children, adults so busy with their work and social life they forget to take care of themselves. 

Love isn’t an emotion that’s only meant to be selfless. Self-love IS essential in one’s lifetime. Show yourself some love, give yourself that treat you’ve been putting off for so long, accept yourself the way you are. You don’t need to qualify other’s expectations about how you should be if you haven’t done so for yourself first. Animals have always been a physical representation of love for me. Your dog will excitingly wait for you even if you haven’t thought about it at all. Humans are social creatures and we all need love. Yes, we all have our huge egos and pride but what use is it of when you are using that to push away the basic thing that all human beings need to live. The basic need to be wanted and to feel loved

P.S For those of you who are forthcoming please spread the love around you. It doesn’t cost a thing and it could mean so much to the person who actually needs it. Some might not say it out loud but a hug or any sign of affection to the person who’s hurting or having a bad day makes a huge difference. It’s the little things that always matter.