Loved and Won
Loved and Won
Posted byMichelle Shields October 1, 2019 1 Comment on Loved and Won
“’Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
~ Alfred Lord Tennyson
Do you believe this?
Love is all around us. It’s a component of every relationship: friends, parents & children, siblings, other family members, lovers.
Whatever type or specific relationship comes to mind when I ask that question, what do you believe about the truth of the quote?
I, for one, believe it to be true.
Yes, love can be painful. That is, genuine, deep, meaningful, heartfelt love, can be painful. It hurts to lose someone that you’ve loved, whether that’s a grandparent, a parent, a sibling, a child, a friend, a partner or lover. There could have been a physical loss, as in a death, or a mental or emotional loss, like them leaving and you losing the dreams of the future you might have had with them. Relationship that involves a genuine love, where you can speak the truth to each other, also means a bit of pain… the truth and growth can be painful and hard and requires you to continually press in if you want the relationship to not only succeed but to be excellent.
But isn’t it better, aren’t you a better person, for having loved and lost than to never have loved? I am.
Yes.. When I’ve truly opened my heart, I’ve been hurt deeply. But I’ve also gained much. I’ve known affection, laughter, tears of both joy and sorrow, love, intimacy in its many forms (emotional, intellectual, physical), and made great memories that I will treasure whether those people are still in my life or not. I’ve grown tremendously and become a better person through each relationship, whether joyous or painful.
No man is an island, we all need relationships and the experience of them. The pain cannot, and should not, be avoided – it is essential to our lives. Have you ever seen Pixar’s movie “Inside Out“? Riley needed Sadness just as much as she needed Joy.. Sadness was just as essential to her life and provided the necessary balance and depth of emotion.
Your OneDegree.Today is to venture beyond yourself and press into a relationship – whether that means getting out of your house and doing something fun and fulfilling with a friend, or pressing into a problem spot and having a heart to heart conversation with someone you love or care about so you can pull up that root and find healing and restoration to joy.
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Posted byMichelle ShieldsOctober 1, 2019Posted inRelationshipsTags: Growth, Healing, Love, Pain
