I’m convinced that most people in the world have never experienced true love. I am certain that many people are very well loved and care deeply for those in their lives but what I’m talking about is that soul mate kind of stuff. That fire. That passion. That moment when you look at someone and you are positive your heart will absolutely burst. I don’t mean the love that parents have for children or best friends have together or even the love you have for your pets. This is the feeling between two people that gives both of them butterflies and makes them goofy smile like children. They smile because they know. They know that they both feel exactly the same way about each other and the only way to describe it is real love. They know they’re the lucky ones.

It’s a touchy subject this love thing. Everyone wants it so bad that many people convince themselves and those around them that they actually feel it. They believe that caring and loving are interchangeable words but don’t be fooled. Caring about someone is great and you can definitely argue that the more you care about someone the more you love them but that’s almost like learning to love, isn’t it? Like, the more time you spend together and get to know each other the more you care so the next step obviously means you both will fall in love, right?

Wrong. You can’t force it. You can’t make this shit up people. Love exists but it can never be faked. You can keep telling your mind that your heart is in love but the truth is your heart never has to ask when it really knows. You can find a person who meets every criterion on your checklist, someone who looks great and makes you laugh, someone who buys you flowers and romances the shit out of you and you can most definitely start to develop feelings. You can really start to care. You care and your lives begin to blend. You see more of each other and things naturally progress. You feel like you really get each other so that must mean you’re in love. So you “fall in love” and shout it from the rooftops. You merge your lives and become one entity. It’s all so great that life is coming together so well for you and you look forward to the future because this person really completes you and gives you everything you could have asked for.

Wake up. Love is not about getting what you asked for. Love is not about flowers or some stupid checklist. Love is not about being comfortable. Love is not about settling for just okay because that’s all you ever seem to find. No wonder this world is piled high with divorce. People settle just so they can settle down and then they are confused when everything breaks down and they realize maybe caring for someone really isn’t enough.

Can you only imagine a world in which people built relationships on love instead of need? Imagine if everyone stopped needing a partner, if everyone stopped needing a confidante, if everyone stopped needing to settle down so they don’t fall behind. Need has become commonplace these days and it almost seems more popular than real, heart-filled love.

True love exists. It is not common but it is real. People say love is hard but real love is easy. It’s the easiest thing you will ever do. Life’s circumstances are what is hard and if things don’t work out between people who love each other they will always know, without a doubt, that what they shared was magic and will never ever go away. Relationships can end but true love never does. It stays with you and you might start to forget about it as time passes but don’t be foolish enough to think it will ever disappear completely. It won’t.

So if you are one of the lucky ones I urge you to be thankful for what you have found, even if it has since been lost. If not, I urge you to ask yourself why you are settling on something other than a connection you know is deeper than anything else you will ever find. Remember that relationships end everyday but true love, well that is something that never really goes away.

The Love Hawk