Without Love Life Is Meaningless

- “Life without love is like a tree without blossoms or fruit.”- Kahlil Gibran -

Money makes the world go around. Living in the new millennium, it is very apparent money is what’s important. Money is the root of all evil, yet the source of happiness. Then again, this statement could only hold water depending on the financial status of the person in question. There may be more than one thing in life that holds importance. Personally, I feel there indeed is more than one thing. Looking at the big picture makes me realize that love is the most important thing in life. This may be in large part that I, the person writing this paper, have not experienced love first hand outside of my family. Look at the people in the world who are at the top of the social ladder, they have money, they have what may appear to be everything that would make a person happy. But, do all of them have love? Most of them are miserable because money cannot buy you everything, this includes love. Looking further into it all, although the person may seem happy on the outside, they may not be on the inside. This may lead back to the fact that they have not found love. In a way everything goes hand in hand with love. Family is centered on love, happiness will lead someone to finding love, which in the end makes you feel whole, which eventually leads to economic success. Love is what makes life interesting. Maybe, by the end of this paper I will discover that love may bring happiness, but may not necessarily be the most important thing in life.

When I first began this paper I was convinced money was the most important thing in life. After the class wrote down their opinions on what they thought was the most important, I soon came to realize that money was not even a thought in anyone’s head. All their answers centered on love, whether it be dealing with friendship or family, love was the ending result. As I began to research even further into this topic I discovered many people felt the same way my classmates did. Take this quote from Patch Adams, “Through love and compassion, one can find meaning and hope in life” (Adams 1). Furthermore proving that without love one may feel they have no reason to live. As I mentioned above love comes from all sources of life. As I continued to research this question I became less interested in the material things in life that brought happiness, like money, and realized that I have received a large amount of love in my life from my parents. They have taught me how to love one another and how it feels to be loved. What they also taught me is that in order to love someone else you must love yourself first. “Psychologists believe, a secure and loving attachment between an infant and it’s mother or parents-the kind that most often exists-is the best possible foundation for a lifetime of intimacy” (Book 1). This quote proves that the above statement I have made is true. I mentioned that I do not think I have ever experienced love other than I have from my family. This may be true because I have not yet learned to love myself. Which in the end results in me not allowing others to love me. I believe that once a person has accepted themselves and can love another is when they are truly successful in life. Which eventually leads to economic success. Thomas Carlyle said it best.. “A loving heart is the beginning of all knowledge” (Carlyle 1).

There is only one thing that everyone is guaranteed when they are born. That one thing is to be loved. When doing research I came across a very interesting quote, “The cure for all ills and wrongs, the cares, the sorrows and the crimes of humanity all lie in the one word ‘love’. It is the divine vitality that everywhere produces and restores life” (Child 1). This quote makes me think the most. If love is the root of all of the above mentioned then love could very well be the stem of human life. Euripidies once stated. “Love is all we have, the only way that each can help the other” (Euripidies 1). If this statement is also true than love is also a form of communication, Open communication may lead to success in life and relationships. As I think about it now, when a person is young, take in high school for example, I feel the word/term love is over used. This does not only happen in the adolescent years, but also in the real world. There are many people who despise the world love, simply because they feel it is an over used and misunderstood word. The cause of dislike for love also could come from someone feeling they truly were in love with someone with a relationship ended or they lost the person. I also feel that people are rushed into being in love. Every movie or television show anymore is centered on love. Usually with the outcome being that love is something that one can go in and out of without being affected. Which in turn can lead to people thinking that love is not the most important thing in the world.

Robert Browning hits the topic of my paper head on with this particular quote, “Take away love and our earth is a tomb” (Browning 1). I feel that without love no one truly has a way to express themselves. When someone has found love, they have a connection with another person that no other person can break. When you are in love your partner completely understands everything about you. There is no need to apologize for something you did, there is no need to explain yourself because they know your thoughts. Love is a bond that is shared between two people. A vow that can with hold the strains of time.

The importance of love may change with age. To a sixteen year old high school female love is a materialistic thing. They feel that if they are in love they will look cool among her friends. When that same girl reaches her late twenties she wants to find that one true love. She wants to settle down and start a real life. Maybe even start a family. This all would lead to being married. When you get married you are supposed to be in love with that person. Now add another twenty years onto that same women’s life and she is now about sixty. The only thing she really has left in her life is her husband and family. Which in the end is all tied together by love. As she begins to lose the people she loves she feels she is losing her life. Furthermore proving that love is all some people have to live for. Basically the thick of this paper gets down to what is important. According to Webster’s Dictionary importance means, “marked by or indicative of significant worth or consequence: valuable in content or relationship” (Websters 1). I think that the definition of importance changes with the person’s stage in life.

I started this paper out with no idea what the true meaning of love was. I still have no real idea what love is. I get the feeling that love is the stem of human life. Love is really what makes the world go around. Love is what one needs to survive. In reality, I am only seventeen, I may not experience love for quite some time. But I’m willing to bet that when I do it will be something that will leave a lasting impression on me. I will leave you with this little bit of information, “All you need is love, love, love is all you need” (The Beatles 1).