There’s something about love that inspires people to employ the language of the interminable, like “always and forever.”
Shakespeare’s Juliet told Romeo her love for him was “infinite.” Justin Bieber sings that he’s “never” leaving. Throughout the ages smitten lovers have penned poems to one another featuring terms like “boundless,” “deathless,” and “everlasting.”
When I was a kid, I wanted nothing more than freedom.
I wanted the freedom to stay up as late as I wanted. I wanted the freedom to watch the TV shows I wanted. And, of course, I wanted the freedom to eat as many cookies as I wanted.
As a kid, any imposed structure on my childish wants was nearly incomprehensible. My parents would try to explain, ΓÇ£Eating that many cookies is bad for you, Jonathan. You will get a stomach ache.ΓÇ¥
There are a few things in life you simply canΓÇÖt force yourself to do.
You canΓÇÖt force yourself to fall asleep. In fact, the more you tell yourself to fall asleep, the less likely you are to actually fall asleep.
And you canΓÇÖt force yourself to love. Every heartbroken person whose girlfriend or boyfriend just broke up with them knows this. By the time weΓÇÖre adults, this is cemented in the common phrase, ΓÇ£the heart wants what the heart wants.ΓÇ¥ You just canΓÇÖt force some things.
We often use the word “love” to describe the affection we feel toward a finished work ingenuity or cleverness. We see something that is well-made and call it ΓÇ£good.ΓÇ¥ In this way, we are like God, who marveled at his creation in the beginning:
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