Monday, April 14, 2014

What Is LOVE? ~ A to Z Challenge

My A to Z Challenge. 
What I'm doing: OFF the CUFF ~ Basically, I'll be keeping posts short and writing about whatever moves me~themes, inspirations, causes, and silliness. I'll stick to my normal posting of Mondays & Wednesdays (possibly an occasional other day), highlighting the appropriate letter for said day. But I will visit blogs throughout the week. I am looking forward to reading your words!

LOVE

What is love? Is it like this quote from THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER written by the fabulous Young Adult Author Sarah Dessen: 

"THERE IS NEVER A TIME OR PLACE FOR TRUE LOVE.
It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment."

And like this quote from THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green: 

"AS HE READ, I FELL IN LOVE THE WAY YOU FALL
asleep; slowly and then all at once."

Pretty swoony, 'eh? It can be just like that. But so often, in daily life, in the moments of our mundane experiences, we forget that everyday/constant/for-better-or-worse love is a completely different animal than at its ignition. It's effort, work, and it can be messy, crazy, sweaty, incomplete, broken, and flawed. 

Love is selfless, meaning utter abandonment of self. I'm talking about the exercise of loving within relationships, both romantic as well as genial friendships - NOT forfeiting the love of self altogether. No. Caring for oneself is vital to selflessly loving others. The key is BALANCE. Giving all self in the motivation for another's well-being, verses resulting in harm to yourself. 

We all know when we act in other person's benefit, but know down deep our motivation is more for self than that other person. It's call Examination of Conscious. It's innate. We're all born with it. The more you exercise it, the more honed it becomes. 

More Participants

Love is not a perfected feel-good. But through the lows and the highs and all the challenges, we grow and hopefully become better people. And in the end LOVE can be fabulous. 

So today, LOVE someone with a little more effort solely for them, disregarding what you might gain. LAUGH to make someone smile even if you don't feel like it. And make every LIVING moment count. 
 photo Sheri2.png




34 comments:

  1. Sheri, that's beautiful. Yeah, love can be messy, but it can change our life. For the good.Or, if we're selfish in our love, it can ruin our lives.

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  2. I think it's important that love is messy, and an effort and flawed, it makes it real. I know I love someone when neither of us is trying to be perfect, when I know I can forgive them without even thinking about it.
    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
    Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

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  3. Sheri, this is a beautiful post about the messy, true love for others that includes stepping out of the "easy" moment of love. Thank you for sharing!

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  4. That was nice. Words I will take to heart today and hopefully beyond.
    Marlene at On Writing and Riding

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  5. I love "swoony" romantic stuff. Makes me feel good.

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    1. I'm with you there. I totally HEART a good romance. I mean, come on. My favorite book of all time, practically know it by heart is Pride & Prejudice.

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  6. Love is work because the feeling will fade. But with work, it takes on a newer, deeper meaning.

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  7. Awww...now I'm all feeling squishy-mushy about love :-)

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  8. "Love" is a perfect choice for the "L" in the A-Z. Your post is beautiful and heartwarming. :)

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  9. Yes! Love changes and grows and evolves and keeps us warm and happy :)

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  10. What a lovely post. Love is work, which is why a lot of people fall out of love . . . because they think once they are in love that it'll be forever. But that is far from true. To stay in love, you have to keep showing your love in new ways and letting the person you love know how much you appreciate their love in return.

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    1. Gosh, yes. You are so right. I think the act of 'loving' takes far more effort than most people think, especially when we're young. Not always, but lots of times our youth can fool us.

      Thank you for stopping by!

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  11. Very well said Sheri. Love doesn't mean what we fantasize it to mean when we're teens. It's so much more real and honest and raw.
    I love that John Green quote. I need to read all his books. I"m so behind. lol

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  12. I LOVE it! Love is so many things, feelings, and actions.

    I still need to read that book. I'm just so afraid it will make me sad!

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    1. Aw, I hear you. I just finished watching (yup, still have yet to read it), THE HELP. That story exhibits love on all sorts of levels. I really need to sit down and examine the story, chapter by chapter. Fantastic!

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  13. Love is one of the most frequent recurring themes in my manuscripts. Love can be easy and hard all at the same time. This is a great post.

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    1. Thank you. I don't think I could write a story without love in some form or other.

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  14. Beautiful post, Sheri! Thanks for the reminder that love isn't always perfect. It can be messy and it does take work. I think the one thing that bothers me about the whole getting married and living "happily ever after" is that it doesn't always work out like that. You can't just sit back and expect to have a happy marriage. A marriage and relationship takes work, effort, sweat, maybe even tears. When we put the time and effort into it, we will reap the rewards and benefits. Great post!

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  15. This post is a gem. Sweet and so full of optimism. I think we are definitely our higher selves when we love.

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    1. Aw ... that is so nice of you to say. I really appreciate it, as do I your visit. Thanks for stopping by the Alleyway!

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  16. Love this! I'm totally into the long game with love. It comes slowly, over time and grows if fed. I laugh at parents who have just had their first kid and aren't sure they care about this child as they should, because love grows as we serve another person. The more effort we put in, the more our love grows.

    True Heroes from A to Z

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    1. Perfect! Love does grow as we serve one another!

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  17. Well said off the cuff, Sherri. True love engages all of our being. Visiting from A to Z. Appreciate your thoughts. Enjoy the challenge. Maria from Delight Directed Living

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  18. I already follow you on twitter and see you are doing the A to Z challenge too. I love that John Green quote about love being slow and then all at once. Those types of lines are what we all strive to write--something so memorable!

    Hope you're enjoying the A to Z Challenge! My theme is Memorable Characters.

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  19. LOVE conquers everything. We LOVE YOU!!! XO

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  20. I love those quotes. I'm going to have to go back and read some more Sarah Dessen books. I read one and didn't like it, but I loved another...so it may just have been the mood I was in with the first one!

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  21. When I think or say the words 'what is love', I flashback to the title song of A Night at the Roxbury. Enjoyed the quotes.

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  22. Beautiful post. I have a loving nature.

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