There’s Somebody for Everyone

After being single for the majority of my life – then finding someone I am now madly in love with – I am convinced that there is somebody for everyone. You may be diseased, leprous, covered in a colony of spores, or otherwise disgusting to most people in the world – but there is someone out there who will “get you”.  It may not be how you originally envisioned – or specifically what you had in mind – but it will captivate you.

C.S. Lewis wrote a piece called The Four Loves that explores the idea of love and its various forms. I think it’s interesting to evaluate your relationships with friends and family through these criteria to better understand how you truly feel.

1. Affection – fondness through familiarity, circumstantial.
2. Friendship – strong bond from a shared interest of activity.
3. Eros – “being in love”, appreciation of another regardless of reciprocity.
4. Charity – “caring regardless of circumstance.”

Lewis mainly wrote for and from the perspective of Christian theology and its discussion of love as a virtue.  However, I think the idea of love as a virtue is a pretty universal concept among us homo sapiens in our various cultural incarnations. So, the next time you think of someone you love – ask yourself, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…”