Love Essay, Research Paper

Essay in Praise of Love

12 September 2000

Love is not a god as the fine philosophers of Greece once suggested. Love is something far more powerful and universal, for not all people believe in gods, yet people cannot refuse the existence of love. Instead, love is a condition of the human body that cannot be denied. True love is obstinate; in the way that music pours into the ears of an audience, love pouring into the heart of a man cannot be stopped, denied, or set off course. Love is a natural instinct. You cannot artificially make love where there is none or where it does not belong. Yet, the condition of being in love grows independent of all rationale. It grows places where an observer may not understand its existence. Attempting to fight love in such a situation leaves even powerful and noble families, such as the Capulets and Montagues, suddenly powerless. When love takes control of two souls, it takes the lovers on a journey. The journey is the growth of love throughout its many progressive stages. In this way, the growth of love between two people is analogous to the growth and development of a painted masterpiece.

A work of art and a bond of love both have distinct stages and characteristics. A painting initially begins with a vision in the mind of the artist. This vision is a perfect vision that the artist will strive to replicate on her canvas. Similarly, love often begins on a visual level based on the physical attractions between two people. The vision of the painter is soon transformed into quick, loose sketches. The pencil freely marks the page; the artist has no control over where it goes, he merely paints. Similarly, lovers have no control over their new feeling of love that has taken over their bodies and rendered them helpless.

After an artist has loosely suggested the outline of the image, color is added. The colors she initially adds are bright, basic colors. At this stage, the painting is appealing to the trite observer. This type of observer fails to see that the painting is actually incomplete because the simple and bright colors appeal to his basic senses. This stage of a masterpiece reflects a common stage of love: the stage often referred to as ?puppy love.? This stage of love is simple and immature like the basic colors of the painting. It relies on an almost primitive drive where little thought is necessary; this love is based on simple, pure, and instinctual attractions. At this stage, the lovers are love-struck and constantly in each other?s company. As with the painting, an observer of this love will think the couple complete. To him they are the epitome of love, when in actuality they are in the mere elementary stages of a great and powerful bond of love.

The next logical stage in a painting is for the painter to add contrasts and shadows. This is the step where the painting metamorphoses from a simple picture to a masterpiece. During this phase, the artist is most likely to make mistakes because the intricate precision in so important. With each mistake the artist makes she considers the expectations she has for the painting and what course the painting should take. Thus, the mistakes made by a true artist in this stage enhance the overall work because each decision the artist makes reassures her of the effect she wants in the end. Also with each decision the painting is one step closing to becoming a complete work of art. Love also matures to a stage where it experiences this tribulation. Lovers often assess their beautifully growing bond. My experience has shown that, among other things, there is often conflict between the forces of love and personal desires. It is here that the lovers must weigh the trivial possessions they are sacrificing against this powerful emotion. Is it worth devoting your life at the expense of loosing something as valued as personal freedom? At this decision and resolution stage of falling in love, mistakes are usually made. Like with the painting, the resolution of mistakes and conflicts helps lovers as to realize what they want in their relationship.

When the mistakes are corrected and conflicts are resolved in both artwork and in love, they have the capacity to become something great, powerful, and immortal. Once a work of art is completed, it becomes full, rich, and deep; similarly, the loving bond between two people that has withstood the test of time becomes full, rich, and deep. Finished paintings express the souls of the artist. They become timeless masterpieces for spectators to admire for all of eternity. However, a common person rarely values artwork for its appropriate worth. It takes a fellow artist to truly appreciate the sweat and painstaking talent artists put into a piece of art. Likewise, when an onlooker sees a couple in love, how are they to distinguish whether it is true love or merely youthful, immature love? For this reason, only experienced lovers are capable of detecting true love in others.

The potential beauty of love is held at the mercy of the two lovers. Thus the extent to which the love will mature depends on the unpredictable course the journey of love takes throughout its progressive stages. As with a painting, at it?s beginning, love has the potential to be something powerful and immortal. Easy love is happy, immature love. For love to be deep and meaningful, it must face challenges and overcome adversity. Love is the artwork of nature. Like the beautiful and serene calm after a vicious storm, love is often dangerous and uncomfortable before it can be lovely.

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