Some people think that the opposite of love is hate, which is totally untrue. Hatred is an acquired attitude we develop as a result of some dis-likable experience with someone or something. It may develop suddenly, or it may take time if we are more tolerant. In other words, hatred is a choice. Some people choose it to keep thems
elves away from unpleasant experiences. And others may choose to rise above it and transform this unpleasant feeling into another one they can live with.
On the other hand, love was never a choice. It's a basic instinct that we are born with and that we are meant to follow. That's why there's no such thing as an unloving person. However, there is a person who is afraid to take the risk of love. Yes, love is a risk; because it leaves us vulnerable. We can be badly hurt by those whom we love, either by things they do to us, by divorce, by rejection, by abuse, or even by death. We may be hurt so much that we begin to wonder if we should love at all. That's when we begin to feel the temptation to withdraw and to live in a cocoon. We start to deny love, because we don't want to be hurt again.
And then withdrawal starts to be an attitude. It gives us that false sensation of being fortified against any emotional suffering. That false sensation of strength. While, in fact, the very opposite is quite true, withdrawal itself is a huge suffering of the heart. Denying a love that is longing to flourish is the worst of all pains. The pain of a wrecked soul. The pain of indifference, which is the real opposite of love.
I have a theory; it's true that the heart can suffer from a love that's lost. But, if you take a deeper look at the matter, you'll find that suffering itself is a gift from God. God created suffering because He wants us to be able to love and be loved… He wants us to grow up. Like children, who think their childish toys bring them all the happiness. And that their nursery is the whole wide world. But something must drive them out of the nursery, someday, to the world of others. And that something is suffering.
So, when love beckons to you, follow it, embrace it. And don't try to direct the course of love; for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course. If it doesn't turn out right, don't be ashamed of it... learn from it… get stronger… and open your heart to a new love. And remember that behind every beautiful butterfly, there's a caterpillar fighting for change inside its own cocoon. So is the human soul. It has to experience agony in order to reach purity. And when it does, you will no longer need to search for another love. It will be right there waiting for you, closer to you than you can possibly imagine. It might have been around you all that time, but only waiting for you to learn from your past, to learn to forgive, to grow up… to earn it !
And when love finally goes your way, prepare yourself to the greatest of all gratifications. The sweetest of all rhapsodies. To wake at dawn giving thanks for another day of loving; to rest at noon and reflect upon love's perfection; to return home in the evening singing a hymn to joy… and to sleep with a prayer to God... thanking Him for giving your heart a chance to believe in miracles once more.
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