still on loving...

One day, Plato asked his teacher, "What is love? How can I find it?"

The teacher answered, "There's a large wheat field in front. Walk there without turning back, and take just one leaf. If you can find one leaf that you think is extraordinary than all the other leaves, it means you have found love."

So Plato walked... and not long after that, he came back empty handed. The teacher asked him, "Why didn't you bring any leaf?"

Plato replied, "I can only bring just one leaf and when I walk, I can't turn back. Actually, I have found one extraordinary leaf, but I dont know whether there's anymore extraordinary leaf ahead, so I didn't take that leaf. When I walked further, I realized that all the other leaves I found are not as extraordinary as I've found previously. In the end, I didn't take any single leaf."

Then the teacher told him, "So... that is love.... and you lost it!"


Another day, Plato asked his teacher again, "What is marriage? How do I know that I have found it?"

The teacher answered, "There is a forrest in front. Please walk there and don't look back. You can only cut one tree, and cut the one that you think is the highest, because that means you have found marriage."

Plato walks there, and he came back not long after that bringing one tree. The tree is not a very good tree and not a very tall one either. It's just a plain and ordinary tree.

The teacher asked him, "Why did you cut that kind of tree?"

Plato answered, "Because, according to my previous experience, after walking thru the wheat field, I came back with nothing. So this time, when I saw this tree, and I think this tree is not so bad, I decided to cut it and bring it here. I don't want to risk loosing it again."

And the teacher said, "Well... that is marriage and you found it! Marriage is the continuity of love... The more you look for love, you will find nothing... Love is in your heart... the place where you can control your desire and your hope to find something better... When you have endless hope and wish of love, you will only get emptiness .. because you wont get anything and time can notbe turned back. Accept love for what it is... Marriage is a process of taking chances, and you choose the best option among all the alternatives... If you want to have a perfect match and a perfect marriage, you are wasting time... because there is no perfect marriage."

Unfolding Love

Like most of us I am frequently asked by the question, "WHAT IS LOVE??" or "HOW DO YOU DEFINE LOVE?".
But really, what is LOVE?
Allow me then to quote my "prophet" Khalil Gibran


Then said Almitra, "Speak to us of Love."
And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them.

And with a great voice he said:

When love beckons to you follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.

He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;

And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, I am in the heart of God."

And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

On Loving

"Sometimes, in our relentless efforts to find the person we love we fail to recognize and appreciate the people who love us. We miss out on so many beautiful things and simply because we allow ourselves to been slaved by our own selfish concerns. Go for the man of deeds and not for the man of words for you will find rewarding happiness not with the man you love but the man who loves you more.The best lovers are those who are capable of loving from a distance, far enough to allow the other person to grow, but never too far to feel the love deep within your being.

To let go of someone doesn't mean you have to stop loving, it only means that you allow that person to find his own happiness without expecting him to come back. Letting go is not just setting the other person free, but it is also setting yourself free from all bitterness, hatred, and anger that keep in your heart. Do not let the bitterness rare away your strength and weaken your faith,and never allow pain to dishearten you, but rather let you grow with wisdom in bearing it.

You may found peace in just loving someone from a distance not expecting anything in return. But be careful, for this can sustain life but can never give enough room for us to grow. We can all survive with just beautiful memories of the past but real peace and happiness come only with open acceptance of what reality is today.There comes a time in our lives when we chance upon someone so nice and beautiful and we just find ourselves getting so intensely attracted to that person. This feeling soon become a part of our everyday lives and eventually consumes our thoughts and actions. The sad part of it is when we begin to realize that this person feels nothing more for us than just a friendship.

We start our desperate attempt to get noticed and be closer but in the end our efforts are still unrewarded and we end up being sorry for ourselves. You don't have to forget someone you love. What you need to learn is how to accept the verdict of reality without being bitter or sorry for yourself. Believe me, you would be better off giving that dedication and love to someone more deserving. Don't let your heart run your life, be sensible and let your mind speak for itself. Listen not only to your feelings but to reason as well.

Always remember that if you lose someone today, it means that someone better is coming tomorrow: If you lose love that doesn't mean that you failed in love. Cry, if you have to, but make it sure that the tears wash away the hurt and the bitterness that the past has left with you. Let go of yesterday and love will find its way back to you. And when it does, pray that it may be the love that will stay and last a lifetime.

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle The other is as though everything is a miracle