“what does love mean to you?”
it amazes me how versatile this one word, love, can be. it can carry the expectations of the world, but it can also feel like the breeziest whisper of joy. it amazes me that this one word can mean everything, but also nothing at all.
i don’t have to think twice about the people i love. i could write volumes of rhymes and reasons explaining all the things i love about them, but that still wouldn’t explain what love means to me. how can i rationalize something so inherently irrational?
“[he] saw me the way i wanted to be seen. there is nothing more powerful than that...everybody wants somebody to hold up the right mirror.”
-taylor jenkins reid (daisy jones & the six)
as soon as i read this line in daisy jones & the six by taylor jenkins reid, i needed to write down everything i wasn’t able to say when i was asked about this earlier - “what does love mean to you?”.
to me, love is a feeling followed by a decision - a melodic rhyme followed by an infinite universe of reasons. you realize you love someone for the things that make them beautiful, then you create an even deeper love through vulnerability - drawing strength from each other as we share our weaknesses.
to me, love is seeing a reflection of yourself in someone else’s eyes. they see the beauty in you, and they decided to stick around to see more. they’ve learned the depths of your soul - the good, the bad, the ugly. and when you look into that mirror in their eyes, you feel seen. you know that they know exactly who you are, and they look at you, still believing with their whole heart that you are the most beautiful person in the world because of it.