Love Someone

The past year has been a great journey of love for me.

And when I say "love," I mean "LOVE" -- a term that encompasses EVERYTHING: joy, sorrow, pain, happiness, kilig, enchantment, disappointment, ecstasy, passion, bliss, forgiveness, acceptance, fear, freedom...EVERYTHING.

It has been a grueling, exciting, tiring, exhilarating, humbling, record-breaking, jolting, mind-blowing year, and I am emerging a better person because of it. So this entry -- aside from an attempt to use up every imaginable adjective for love (haha) -- is about my realizations about myself.

I am a loving spirit. I don't say this to pat myself on the back, or to boost my self-esteem. I say it because it is part of my being, it is part of my programming, it is something I practice each and every day.

I love.

My soul willingly, unquestioningly, eagerly puts itself out there for love. I am here to give love -- and sometimes, if I'm lucky -- to receive love. I realize, when you open yourself up to anything, you let in everything -- love, pain, bliss, despair -- you have to be ready to face it all.

And that's what happened to me: I took a leap (of faith), and jumped over the edge. I fell. I soared. I crashed. I burned....and I survived it all. :) I guess that makes me pretty damn fearless. And the adrenaline rush it gave me...no other feeling in the world can quite compare.

I feel like I'm permanently inlove, and I choose to stay this way.

And I am inlove: with my job, with my life, with you (yes, you), and with the person I am now. :)

Love someone. It is enough to turn everything around. ♥

"Keep on believing, don't give in.

It'll come and make you whole again.

It always will, it always does...

Love is unstoppable."

* * * *

To drive my point, below is an excerpt from Adrian Tan's commencement speech to the NTU graduating class of 2008

It is far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.

Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the true worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.

Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.

You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.

You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.

Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.

Roll With Me

Someday you will meet the Big O who will make you realize that you are not a missing piece...and who will make you realize that you are not looking for someone to complete you and take you somewhere.

You are your own piece and you can roll on your own...or roll alongside someone else. :)

Well, what are you waiting for? Roll with me. :)


* * * *


The Missing Piece Meets the Big O

by Shel Silverstein

The missing piece sat alone...
waiting for someone to come along and take it somewhere.

Some fit...
But could not roll.

Others could roll, but did not fit.

One didn't know a thing about fitting.
And another didn't know a thing about anything.

One was too delicate.

One put it on a pedestal...
and left it there.

Some had too many pieces missing.
Some had too many pieces, period.

It learned to hide from the hungry ones.

More came.

Some looked too closely.
Others rolled right by without noticing.

It tried to make itself more attractive...
It didn't help.

It tried being flashy
but that just frightened away the shy ones.

At last, one came along that fit just right.

But all of a sudden...
the missing piece began to grow!
And grow!

"I didn't know you were going to grow."

"I didn't know it either," said the missing piece.

"I'm looking for my missing piece, one that won't increase..."

And then one day, one came along who looked different.

"What do you want of me?" asked the missing piece.

"Nothing."

"What do you need from me?"

"Nothing."

"Who are you?" asked the missing piece.

"I am the Big O," said the Big O.

"I think you are the one I have been waiting for," said the missing piece. "Maybe I am your missing piece."

"But I am not missing a piece," said the Big O. "There is no place you would fit."

"That is too bad," said the missing piece. "I was hoping that perhaps I could roll with you..."

"You cannot roll with me," said the Big O, "but perhaps you can roll by yourself."

"By myself? A missing piece cannot roll by itself."

"Have you ever tried?" asked the Big O.

"But I have sharp corners," said the missing piece. "I am not shaped for rolling."

"Corners wear off," said the Big O, "and shapes change. Anyhow, I must say good-bye. Perhaps we will meet again..."

And away it rolled.

The missing piece was alone again.

For a long time, it just sat there.

Then...
Slowly...
It lifted itself up on one end...

Then lift...pull...flop...
...and flopped over.

It began to move forward...

And soon, it's edges began to wear off...

Liftpullflopliftpullflop...

And its shape began to change...

And then it was bumping instead of flopping...
And then it was bouncing instead of bumping...
And then it was rolling instead of bouncing...
And it didn't know where, and it didn't care.

It was rolling!

(For the narrative + illustrations, click here)

Valentine's Day 2011

‎"To love with our whole hearts, even though there's no guarantee." 

Is there any other, more sincere way to love? 

Wishing you all inspiration, to push you to go beyond what is expected

...courage, to be able to take that leap into the unknown

...and faith, to keep on believing in love, even in the most trying of times. 

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! Spread the love. ♥