Falling in Love

For many generations, philosophers have tried, with little success, to fully describe love in its full length and breadth, as its worth and value are beyond human comprehension.

However, what people do know is that love is the element of life that gives one purpose and meaning. Some of humanity’s most urgent questions are ‘what does or should falling in love feel like?’ ‘what are the factors that trigger feelings of love’ and most importantly ‘what are the characteristics of genuine and enduring love?’.

Falling in love with another person is the greatest feeling of adoration affection and care, stemming from deep within the heart.

Contrary to the popular belief, ‘falling’ in love is the process that develops through many stages rather a particular moment in time.

Moreover, the ‘love at first sight’ that people often describe is confused with physical attraction. Love is fully cultivated through interactions where two people get to know one another in terms of personalities, sharing life perceptions and dreams.

Due to the fact that people are different from each other, they tend to respond differently when cupid’s arrow strikes them. Many people tend to think about the person they have fallen in love with throughout the day. For that period of time, their thoughts become centered on that person.

More reserved people shy away from the person they have fallen for and try to avoid them at all costs. They tend to feel very uncomfortable in their presence which leads to awkward actions like having difficultly expressing themselves and they can become lost of words.

The more extroverted people try to get attention from the person they are in love with. They go out of their way initiate conversations with them or even ask them out for a picnic or to see a movie.

Despite these different reactions, the feelings within their hearts are quite similar. These are feelings that many describe as wonderful and profound, that accelerate the heart beat just at the mere thought or sight of their loved ones. Others say that it feels like the season of spring deep down inside them. As if roses are blossoming and shining bright through to the surface, making anything dark seem bright.

Why do people fall in love? People fall in love for so many different reasons depending on what they value in life. Of all the above mentioned reasons on why people fall in love, only one sows the seed of true enduring love that is deeply rooted enough to survive all the storms of tribulation a relationship can go through in life.

This type of love can only exist when it is built on a foundation of appreciating one another’s characters, loving the person for who they are and not for what they have and how high they rank in your life.

In other words, the life span of any love is directly proportional to the life span of the factors that cause people to fall in love.

Material possessions for instance may be there one minute and disappear the next, so when love is based on what people possess and those assets are lost, the love follows suit and vanishes into thin air.

The same is true for physical attributes. Falling for a person simply because of how they look is not needed for fulfilling relationships. Everything starts to change as soon as age causes one’s perfectly smooth skin to fold into wrinkles and one’s perfectly toned body to grow into a shapeless mass of hanging skin.

The only enduring possession that one has that survives and remains unchanged against the test of time and changing tides is who a person is on the inside. When one falls in love with that, despite the physical flaws and lonely status, everlasting love is guaranteed.

True love has a tendency of creating a blindfold, making one oblivious to the physical flaws and other shortcomings of a person.

However on the other hand, this can be dangerous as someone who is in love may become blind to the dark side of a person’s character and actions, making them vulnerable to abuse.

To rule out the misconceptions, true love has a universal code of feelings that people can always relate to. Love breeds a fountain of joy and happiness, not sadness or fear. Love provides a shield of protection against the storm of turmoil.

Love is to man what rain is to a thirsty desert and what wings are to a dove. It was discovered that man survives for few months without food, a couple of days without water but only few seconds without love.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.