To Love Is to Live

What is Love? Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. But is to love, to live? Many would think so, many would disagree, and there are others who are undecided.

I believe that the statement, “to love is to live”, does not apply to those who aren’t in love, or have never loved before, but there are many people who are happy with their lives the way it is. For example: priests and nuns. They have dedicated their lives to the church and in doing so, commit to not falling in love with another person, but are very content with their lives. There are also cases where love can turn violent in jealous rages. In the poem, “Penelope’s Despair”, Penelope’s husband who had been missing for 20 years returned back to her and killed all of her suitors out of jealousy. Love can also be tough. Couples endure hardships; they have their arguments, fights, and disagreements. Although two people are in love, It may be the most troubled time in their lives.

There are many people who fully support the statement. These people probably have perfect relationships. Those who are in love often say they are rejuvenated or feel very alive and happy. They say that they have never felt happier before love. There are cases where individuals, before love, were very sad and lonely, their lives were miserable, did not feel happy at all, until they met the person they fell in love with. They feel, “born again”, and feel like they’ve just woken up and began living life. Love also gives you a reason to live your life to the fullest and work hard. People also have their loved ones to get through hardships. Just knowing the fact that they have someone is enough to get through whatever their troubles may be.

There are also those who are undecided or neutral on what they feel about this statement. Most people would think that the