Love is...

You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She’s not perfect - you aren’t either, and the two of you may never be perfect together but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break - her heart. So don’t hurt her, don’t change her, don’t analyze and don’t expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she’s not there." -Bob Marley

Thanks to Le Love for this gorgeous excerpt!

I have known many different kinds of love through my life... I have known love that burst into bloom in a moment and the wispy fragrance lingered for the next 20 years and onwards. I have known love that fought the odds, across the planet, and won, only to splutter out in the stillness of peace. I have known love that was secret and forbidden, which sent me running to catch taxi's in the middle of the night and set my heart and body on fire. I have known love which became my whole world in the moment our eyes met, which burned brightly until it became molten and then set solid, and which only cracked under extraordinary life stress. I have known love that ripped and pinched, yet hung on grimly. I have known love which dined on illusion and left the table still hungry. I have known love which was for no rational reason and yet stood strong despite the currents dragging me in their undertow. I have known love which was for all the right reasons, which smouldered long on possibility and was slow to catch fire.

And all I know, at the end of this day, is that love is not about reasons, it is not about plans, it is not about names and labels, it is not about being sensible, it is not about protecting yourself or others... Love doesn't fit into types and patterns. Love doesn't follow the rules. Love is about opening your heart and simply breathing in the moment... Love is about noticing, really appreciating, how it feels to be alive in the other's life.

And in the end of it all, Love is simply a feeling.

The people I have loved in my life, I will always love. When you love someone, it changes the fabric, the weave of your heart. These changes are not undone when life moves and the moments that inspired that love are no longer. Past loves become part of the tapestry of one's heart...and live on in every loving moment from that day forth. Love is not forgotten.