The Good Side of Love

 Love hurts, we all know that; but isn’t that just life? Everything that happens in life will have two sides to it: the good and the bad. And so does love.

People always seem to focus on the bad side of love, but that’s human, we always pick out the negatives and don’t appreciate the good. We are always talking about who has broken up with who or who’s relationship is on a downfall,. For one second, can we stop being human and observe this beautiful feeling of love? It’s very rare we remember the happy couple; who’s love seems to last forever. Whether it’s the first year or the 60th year, people ignore their happiness because there isn’t much to gossip about.

Whether you are single or in a relationship, you are loved. Reflect on all the good times you have had and leave out the bad ones. Let’s look at the good side of love.

I was once in a relationship in probably the worst time of my life. I was diagnosed with Cancer. I battled it; and unfortunately it relapsed. It was when it relapsed that I acquired the relationship that would give a reason not to give up. For the first time in my life, I knew what the word “love” meant. She was beautiful, kind and loving. She knew me more than I knew myself. This relationship went on for 8 months and now I’m left single. However, I do not reflect on the bad times and what could have been. Instead, I reflect on the good times and what has been. I remember when I took her to see “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat” in the theatre for the very first time; probably the 15th for me. I also remember when we used to lie on my bed whilst listening to romantic and sometimes cheesy songs. I would tend to tickle her until she couldn’t breathe with laughter. This girl was a distraction from my illness, she gave me another reason to fight; every time I laid in that hospital bed, I knew who I was fighting for: My girlfriend, my friends and my family. This is the good side of love, the one that helped me battle death itself and more importantly, made me who I am today.

Love isn’t just restricted to your partner. Love is worldwide and actually stretches far beyond that. Love is “a virtue representing all of human kindness” which means that any kindness you show to someone, you are showing love. So whether you help the old lady down the road carry her shopping home or whether you lend your best friend some money to pay off their debts; it is all love. Love is a “emotion of strong affection”. Has anyone thought you and your best friend of the opposite sex were dating, when actually you are not? Well that’s due to the love you share with them. I am not saying that you should marry them or anything, but only that you care for them so much that you treat them like your own sibling. I have a female friend who I love to pieces, but I never have wanted to date her. That’s no offence against her, I just like my friendship with her as it is and would not like to take it any further and she would also agree with that. My female friend has helped me through a lot of things, including Cancer and I adore her loads. I care for her, like I said earlier, as a sister. I will protect her, care for her, just like I would for my own sister. Ever said the expression: “You’re like a sister/brother to me” to anyone? That is the love I am referring too and everyone should appreciate the goodness it brings into our lives.

I’ve talked about the love you give to your partner and the undermined love of your friends, but there is one key love I have forgotten about. Family. The people who have welcomed and prepared you in this life surely love you the same as you love them. Quite often you won’t see eye-to-eye on situations, but that should never cancel out the love you have all shared. Throughout your childhood, you will have lived with these people though thick and thin and you will develop a very close relationship with them. Remember the expression: “Blood is thicker than water”? Referring back to care being love, your family care for you a lot; whether it’s financially or emotionally, this is still an act of love. In fact, this love could be classed as the greatest of all. In today’s society, when people talk about love, they refer to the partner love we talked about earlier. People seem to ignore the family love and regret it when it disappears. Most commonly at funerals, mourning people often say “I wish I could say “I love you one” more time.” This is because they didn’t realise what they had until it was removed from them. What they had, was the love of the family in which they grew up in. These are the people we can rely on and the people we can place all our trust on. These are the people that will love us for who we are and will support us all the way. These are the people we know that will pick us up when we fall down. These are the people that make love the greatest.

When love ends, we see sadness in the world, but that’s the bad side of love. As learned from many stories, good always overcomes bad. So when love has “ruined” your life or hear of someone talking badly about it, just remember the words I have shared here. Love is great and should be felt by everybody. Now go and spread it!

JAllerton