[book] Love, chained by Shadow, freed by Light.

"For you, Adabella, and for love, and for all love that may come." - Jean-Pierre

Introduction

The Light tries to bring harmony and well being to all life. But then, what greater manifestation of the Light can there be than love? Love that transcends life and death. Love that can create new life. Love that can lead one to sacrifice, to save another. It is not bound by logic, nor distance, nor language, nor rules...

In that, true love follows the same pattern as the Light. In that, love is a true test of our knowledge of the Virtues. It is the very embodiment of Respect towards other life. It can push us to the greatest acts of Compassion. And eternal love is the dearest, warmest example of Tenacity.

But in our desire for eternal love, we can grow fearful. We grow afraid to loose love. We grow afraid to loose the one that invokes such love in us. We grow so afraid that we let ourselves grow distant from love itself to avoid the pain of its loss. And in that, we become fools.

In our fear, we try to guard our feelings to the point we shut out love itself. And slowly, we let ourselves become slaves to our own guards, to our own fears and grow ever more distant from the beauty that the Light and love try to bring.

And if we let such fear dominate us, then the shadow will win. When the shadow finally strikes us, we shall have learned concede to the shadow who promises us to dull the pain by blinding us from love and the beauty of life entirely.

The fears that make us break the Virtues.

When we are confronted with love, we are confronted with the Light in purest form. It is so powerful an emotion that it can sweep us of our feet, no matter how strong we stand. And we grow fearful, for it reveals us how small we are compared to its greatness. And we grow fearful to loose ourselves in it. And we grow fearful to loose it, for once we have basked in its warmth, the world feels cold without it.

And it is this fear that pushes us to claim a person, binding them to ourselves so we would never be separated of our love for them. And this is a violation of their own freedom, and their connection to the universe. And this is a violation of our own freedom, for we will bind ourselves to them as much as they are bound to us. Thus our fear pushes us to a violation of Respect.

And it is this fear that pushes us to short sighted, unwise acts. It pushes us to giving too much compassion to prove our love needlessly, or not giving enough to persuade the other to prove theirs. And this is a violation of one's faith in their own feelings or that of another. And thus it will push us to actions with brief satisfaction but sore consequences. And thus it is a violation of love itself, for above all else it desires to be good and yield positive feelings. And thus, it is a violation of Compassion.

And it is this fear that has us make promises of eternal love, as if the promise of eternity could control the future. But it is this very promise that stands in the way of love's freedom. How can it be freely given, if it was already promised? And thus, its true eternity is replaced with a false eternity, embodied by a promise. And thus, it is a violation of the gift of love. And thus it is a false replacement of Tenacity.

The jail we prepare for love.

The shadow, above all else, seeks to enslave us to its will. It seeks to make us destroy our own Light, or that of others. It uses emotions like fear, but it also wields logic that tricks out mind where our hearts should speak. So does the shadow try to use logic by fooling us to protect ourselves against love.

Love can not be bound to a person at will. Young children would laugh and claim it is the most obvious thing: that we can not choose love, but love choses us. Yet many of us fail to accept this as we grow older. We choose our love based on convenience. One who has a similar mind, one who has a kindred heart, one who lives a similar life or possesses a similar (or better) social status. Slowly we train our minds to decide for us who would be suitable partners and tell our hearts to love the person who suits us.

And the heart tries. And the heart may find love. But it will never have lit up in the night like a shooting star and graced them with the beauty that only spontaneous love can bring. And in this act, the shadow has already won, for it has already bereft one's life of the most beautiful Light that can be.

The chains we give to love

When love has finally come our way, the shadow seeks to trick us with fear. Fear of its loss. Fear of another's freedom. Fear of an uncertain future. Fear that love may prove temporary.

Love can not be promised. Not now, not forever, not ever. What if true love would encourage separation to find happiness?
How can one sacrifice, no matter how sorrowful its necessity would be, if one were held back by a promise?
How can the greatest expression of love, being its returning gift, still live if it were tainted by a promise?

And while love is bound by promises, built to ensure our future, built to limit one's freedom so we can have our personal insurance, built to minimalize risk in an uncertain future, it slowly weakens.

In time, the shadow will creep in, and it will take away the passion of love. Life turns gray. The daily gift of seeing each other becomes a habit, bereft of its magic... till one asks themselves if love still truly exists. It has always been there, but caged by words and promises, or enslaved by rules that should not rule it.

The darkness we give in to when love is lost.

When misfortune strikes us and takes away our love, our world seems to darken. So much Light is taken from us, that our hearts and minds can no longer adjust to the life without it.

In panic we try to bind ourselves to nonsensical promises to our lost love as if somehow that would create love. We try to honor them and adore them above all else, even the Light, hoping that love would then return. And we feel betrayed, for no effort ever brings them back. No effort changes that which was done. And the shadow laughs in our hearts and offers a path where love never exists. And we choose it, willingly, so we could be spared the pain of it. And thus we grow resentful, and spiteful, and know only emotions that are wicked and cruel for we know no longer the Light that only love can bring. Instead we only know darkness and claim it is a homage to those that brought us love.

And we are fooled. For in a tribute to our loved ones, we sacrifice exactly that which they admired about us. We blind ourselves from what it showed us, as we can not bear this view alone... and we forget that love remained true to us, till its very end and even now.

Love and the Light

Such is the beauty of love that is a connection of Light itself, and it must be respected in its own right. Let this connection, in its beauty, in its simplicity and its power inspire oneself. Let it grow your understanding of Respect to those you love and to yourself.

Such is the beauty of love that we must be true to it, time and time again, regardless of what the past and future may bring. Even if it could be lost, one should hold to it as truly as if it would be eternal. Then it will inspire Tenacity in yourself.

Such is the beauty of love that we should let it be free and inspire us to kindness. Let it inspire us to simple gestures and great gestures. Let the greatness of the gestures not be some foolish measurement of our love, for the wisdom and symbol behind it are its true measures. Only then can it open our hearts to act in the name of true love. Only then it will inspire true Compassion in yourself.

The freedom of love

Love is life... And life is love. Much like life, so should love be free. Free from doubt, free from promises, free from burdens and fears. Such is the beauty of eternal love, that it should never be promised but be renewed, like a new love, like a new wonder, time and time again, no matter the circumstances. It must be treated as the greatest gift to another and oneself. Such is the meaning of true love and its freedom.

(( Beautiful ))