Don’t you see that one person amongst your clan who’s always happy? Always content and satisfied with his life, standing tall even when he’s hit by a storm? And on the other side there’s always someone who’s dissatisfied and known to be the "whiner" all around. These are just some phases of human nature that we see around us in our day to day life.
From all these phases is one phase called love. The realization of what love is develops when we enter our teens. Those tickling butterflies in our stomach when we see that special someone or becoming overly conscious of who we are and how we are. These and other numerous different feelings start mounting in us—feelings we have never witnessed before. We fix our hair, fix our clothes, shy away, or make mistakes when we bump into someone that makes our heart beat faster than ever. Yes, being a teen girl calls for all of that new-love cheesiness. But what exactly is going on? Some of us read various books and skim through innumerable chapters to find more about this new sensation taking rise within us. Staying awake all night or day dreaming through the mornings, this novel euphoria starts becoming a part of who we are.
According to Dr. Seuss, “You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."
Alas! This is love, my friend. One of the most dominant facets of human nature, and perhaps one of the most beautiful ones, too. Amongst feelings of aggression, stress, sorrow, and grief, love has always paved its way to rise above the rest and penetrate itself in the hearts of everyone.
But how do you find true love? This most likely won’t be happening in your teenage years, or maybe it might. Many philosophers have written and researched love and many a musicians have sung along lovable tunes, gaining much acclaim, but the road to finding true love has never been easy for anyone. Love needs to be nurtured; it needs care. Without compassion and empathy, love remains nothing but a feeling graved deep down in our heart.
In the famous words of John Lennon, "We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it."
As we grow up from mere teenage girls into mature women, we find ourselves scrambled in this nutshell of feelings that stay within us and grow with us. Some of us find that "right" person, and we live on with them developing a safe and secure future, turning dreams into realities. However, some of us continue searching for the one person or that one reason that will restore and make our belief in love firm than ever. It is only when we’re in love do we realize that love has no boundaries. Love is not merely between two people; it’s between hundreds of people. It's between plants and animals, between things and accessories. Love of God—love for this world and its manifestations. This is that one feeling that has kept this world going. It has bound this universe into a strong and prevalent relationship that can withstand all atrocities. But then, what gives love this strength? The answer to this is "compassion." Love brings peace with itself and it is only with compassion that peace and love can prevail in our world. This brings us into closing down those teenage feelings into a worldwide phenomenon that unites people and ends differences amongst populations through eons and decades.
Drawing from the writings of Van Der Post: "Compassion leaves an indelible blueprint of the recognition that life so sorely needs between one individual and another; one nation and another; one culture and another. It is also valid for the road which our spirit should be building now for crossing the historical abyss that still separates us from a truly contemporary vision of life, and the increase of life and meaning that awaits us in the future." (ibid. p.29)
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