Love is a Duet

I've never been one to openly long for the cliche but I've always secretly been a very deep romantic. I give Paige the credit for bringing this characteristic out in me. Though I have often proven to be skeptical of the idea of true love I've always been captivated by the kind of love that supersedes distance and remains true through any difficulty. In a world where love is sold nightly and thrown away daily, I think it is crucial that we remember what we are all looking for. Traditional practice such as dating, courting, asking father's permission, maintaining chastity, and even our definition of marriage are viewed as old-fashioned and outdated yet these things are the things that create a classic romance. One cannot long for the cliche knight in shining armor, white charger and all, unless they live and expect the character necessary to achieve it.

I think Shakespeare says it best in his 116th Sonnet: 

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come:

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

   If this be error and upon me proved,

   I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

 Is it truly so cliche to long for love at first sight? Or the kind of love that makes you dance in the rain, smile and laugh when no one's around,? The kind of love that makes you dream for the first time, and makes you dance and skip as you walk? The kind of love that makes a home in your heart and mind to never leave again.? Perhaps the cliche is not ridiculous or unachievable. After all, it would not be cliche if it was not spoken of so consistently as the ideal...what we all really want. And perhaps it happens more than we think. 

I mean that's what love is. Love is a duet. The intertwining of two hearts to become one. Your best friend and the one person who might know you better than you know yourself. The person you'll always love, always need and always want.  The one person you'd give everything to and trust completely because you know they'll always be there, "For better for worse, I've got you." 

I often say the phrase, "I love love." And it's true. The most beautiful things in this world are the eyes of those in love. Holding hands, a homecoming, the last dance, a kiss goodnight or a knowing look. Watching someone receive a letter, giddily hiding a love note, or laughing at an inside joke. Shakespeare said, "They do not love that do not show their love. The course of true love never did run smooth. Love is a familiar." And I think that's what everyone wants. The familiar voice, form, and hands of someone to help them overcome anything, to leave a note just because, and spend the rest of eternity with. I know that's what I want and I don't think we should ever forget what we are all working for. The perfect duet, singing even when separate and dancing even when difficult. A Love worth every beautiful moment of eternity, and a feeling that it would still not be long enough.

                                           

This is an episode off of a series called Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. I think it beautifully illustrates the powerful connection created in love.

-Natalie Cherie