~3~ More, More, More

 Have you ever been in love? Like, truly, completely, wholeheartedly, to the point of pain, felt in every single speck of stardust that built you?

I have always been a devoted reader. Romance novels, fantasies, history…you name it, I read it. All those incredible love stories, all those people prepared to stay, to stand by each other through it all, to work it out, to be prepared to listen and to understand, not just blame and sow anger.

It made me wonder, if our minds were capable enough to describe all these emotions and behaviours in such explicit detail, how can it be so rare to find it here, in the real world?

Have we truly gotten lost in the environment of relentless striving for more, where loneliness is being praised because it means no distractions for the ride that should bring you to the moon, if you win the game before others do.

Have we forgotten how it feels like to be hugged by the one you love, to feel their warmth seep into you, filling you, calming you?

What it feels like to be staring into their eyes, full of love, their hands all over, bodies intertwined, souls intertwined with one another, burning and aching for more, more, more…more of them, more of you. Of not getting enough, never. Because no amount of time in the world will ever be enough with them. No amount of touch will ever make you tired of their hands roaming your body like it’s their first time, each time. Nothing prepares you for a connection so strong your body shakes and it feels like you’re flying beneath the very stars.

Knowing that as long as you’re with them, you’re complete.

When life without them makes no sense, and you find yourself gaping at what you once thought love was, shallow and empty, a rumour, a myth. Unachievable. A dream you got lost in.

Until the dream came true.

We spend so much time wishing for more, more money, more success, more admirers, more, more, more…more of everything that drains our soul so much we forget how to share with one another. Be with one another. How to talk, to listen, to learn about each other. We do it for the image we show the world. Perfection. Instagrammability. Screaming of our pleasure and victory when in truth, we haven’t won anywhere at all.

Nothing lasts, neither will you. And you will be forgotten.

The money you made, the people you’ve outdone…it won’t matter, in the end.

If you give yourself away, to this and only this…you will be forgotten.

But if you have someone to come home to, someone to hold, to laugh and cry with, someone to love, respect and cherish, and have them return it all in equal or stronger measure, then you will live forever.

Trees beneath which you walked will remember your laughter, the stars beneath which you made love will shine ever so brightly, bearing witness to the miracle of your souls becoming one. The kitchen that was filled with warmth and food and joy, the children who bear eyes that made you wonder how is it possible to hold so much love for a person? That nothing would ever be enough to put it into words.

Yes, earn your money, create a career, succeed. Do it all. But don’t forget that if you are to get lost anywhere, get lost in their soul. In their eyes. In the magnitude of your love for them. The peace they bring you. The home you find in their arms.

Strive for more, long for more, drive for more. Achieve what you feel deep inside yourself that was meant for you. Win that.

But in the meantime, don’t forget to win for your soul, too.

• Elaviela