In the mating game there are two kinds of love. One is the joyful accident of finding an attractive playmate--one who sees the beauty and goodness in you. This is the marvelous feeling of happiness that goes with falling in love.
The other love is a true friendship that begins with small acts of kindness and then slowly grows into trust and affection that continue to grow over a lifetime.
A few fortunate souls create the conditions that bring the best of both great loves. You can prepare your heart and mind to catch that first wave of passion, and then you can transform that spark into a fiery love that burns through the years, transcending time and tragedy.
A dancing body shifts back and forth from one to another. Likewise, the dance of love shifts seamlessly from flaming passion to the deep cool water of oceanic love. Like the traditional yin/yang symbol, two lovers cycle through the seasons of their lives as a single entity that moves to the inner music they share.
The first step in the eternal dance of love takes the lead by making a passionate commitment to love unconditionally and eternally. Lovers pledge their lives to one another. They accept anything and everything about each other. People know Hillary Clinton for her powerful public persona. But few recognize that her force grows out of the absolute commitment to her husband. Her loving eyes lifted him to great achievements by creating a true power couple. Whether or not you agree with her politics, there is no denying the power of her loving devotion.
The second leg of love is disillusionment. No one can create and sustain true love on a fairy tale. Real life doesn't take place between princes and princesses that live in palaces. All people have flaws. Not one person can ever live up to the expectations of another. Once you accept human frailties, then you become capable of deep, abiding love--the kind that a loving mother feels for her baby, without regard for how her beloved looks or feels or acts.
The art of loving is the ability to move together through the phases of love and the changes that life brings. Don't long for the past or worry about the future. Each year, day, and moment of love is perfectly imperfect. Loving devotion can never fit your pictures or fulfill your expectations. Whatever life brings, just let it be. The best of times and the worst of times are all part of a grand reality. Cold days force you to grow deep roots. Warm days allow you to branch out and produce exquisite flowers, fruits, and seeds for a future that you can only imagine.