The Joy of Love

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(Published  in ASK Anggi column in Speak! # 08 # February 2013)

Ask your close friends about February, and very likely their answers will be something related to love. That’s because the month is usually associated with Valentine’s Day, a special time the world celebrate the spirit of love.

Like many of you, I think love is a terrific feeling. At its best, being in loves makes us better person. You divide  your time properly between studies, family and extracurricular activities so that by the end of the week, you can spend more time with that special someone. When you’re in love, everything seems wonderful all the time.

 But when do we really know that we’re in love?

Don’t you think that the word “love” is overused and abused? Despite what the media would like to believe, no one can really fall in love after just two month of dating (if you do you might want to slow things down a bit). This is usually because you’re still in the infatuation stage of your relationship.

If it really is love, then you will confident about making your feelings known. But confessing one’s love is never easy –what if the other person doesn’t feel the same way as you do? And anyone who’s ever experienced unrequited love knows just how much that sucks – in fact, some people need months to recover from emotional distress if causes.

So love really is a double-edged sword. On one end, you experience passion, trust and comfort. On the other, you have o face disappointment, uncertainty and endless compromise. Oh love…Why are you so complicated?

I don’t know to the answer to that question, but Albert Einstein might. Here’s an excerpt from a love letter written by the genius himself;  “Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.”

He couldn’t have said it better.

While I can’t offer any concrete dating and relationship advice, I can tell you that you can’t love or be loved if you don’t love yourself. That means accepting yourself as you are, and coming to terms with certain aspects of yourself that you cannot change, If you want someone to fall for you, you musy first have self respect and total self acceptance.

So go ahead and experience love! But remember the more you love yourself, the more you will be able to give love to others. Happy valentine’s Day!