It can be a person, a place, or a thing.
You light up when they walk into a room. Your body language changes.
You can’t stop smiling. You stop talking or you babble nervously.
Feeling and emotions can not be controlled. You can reason with yourself and control your actions with will power, but there is no denying true love.
We all have them. Things we can’t live without, people we drop everything to spend time with, places we visit time and time again to wash over us a sense of peace, calm and serenity. Things we hold near and dear to our hearts that get dragged from home to home.
In my early days I was very much “in love” with the life I wanted. I was in love with the energy I soaked up from interesting people, new places I traveled to, exciting places to live and the beautiful things I acquired. I was hunting and gathering people, places, things and experiences – thousands of photos, oodles of memories, piles of love letters, hundreds of stories.
But with age comes wisdom and with wisdom comes a refinement of what or whom you fall in love. Not because you consciously control your emotions, you simply gain a new perspective. Things we love once came in a “blue box” but are now hand made love letters from your children. The places were once the islands of Greece but are now your kitchen table where good friends and family gather. The people were once upwardly mobile with lots of potential and fascinating backgrounds but are now the people who make you smile every day. The smiling mailman, the waitress who knows you by name, your family (even the nutty ones!) and the friends you made in childhood who are still in your life.
We are women who run but with age we realize it’s not all worth running for or after. We purge our closets and the clothes we’ve outgrown, we purge the friendships we’ve outgrown, we simplify our to-do list, we buy less and cherish more. We slow down and listen and watch and soak in what we love because we know it’s fleeting and we are not promised a tomorrow. We kiss and hug those we love every day. We apologize and forgive quickly and don’t hold grudges. We thank those who brighten our days and make our path a little easier. “I love you” comes out a little more easily and is more genuine. You say it to your mom and your sister when you’re hanging up the phone, you tell your children every night and every morning as they head to the bus stop. You cherish your romantic relationships. You don’t take them for granted. If you’re still looking – you’re pursuing true love… because it does exist. Head over heels love. The kind of love you feel for molten chocolate cake, the smell of cinnamon roles, a hot shower after a run, sleeping in on a Sunday morning, the first sip of coffee each morning, a roaring fire and a good book. Now those are worth running for!
