Indulgence and Love - are they the same?

Love is an uncanny concept. You could try to define it, but would you hit at its accurate centre? None of us can, really - although we might employ basic philosophical principles to make sense of an otherwise indescribable emotion. Throughout epochs in history, from Shakespeare till the postmodern thinkers of today, love still remains to be so simple; yet the most complicated sentiment of all human existence. This is because we tend to confuse its idea with other notions as well, further classifying it into subdivisions which quantify the action of loving others: either too little, in the middle, or too much. But how have the limits of love been redefined, owing to the pandemic?

This period has truly caused us to rethink our priorities and to even understand who are the people we should actually care about in our lives. I, for one, have lost a close friend during this time; someone whom I loved very much. She meant everything to me, and was the only one whom I could lean on in my darkest days. A large number of us has been forced to let go of certain people at various points, though it was extremely tough to do so. For the first five months or so, I was a nervous wreck. Being an introvert who can't easily socialise with others openly, I was terrified of school reopening towards the end of 2020 - that meant I would have to face her. And that I would have to eat lunch alone. You know how typical teenage fears go.

Then it hit me: you can love someone too much, till it hurts. You indulge in an overbrimming love, and give yourself up to its whims. Maybe it is blind, after all. But, is drowning in the apparently perfect beauty of loving someone good for us? Don't we in turn hurt ourselves silently? Forget the cliché of loving pain - we still continue to self-destruct little by little, very much against our will. So why do we stick to it?

The fear of being left behind knocks in our mind from time to time. Indulging in the sympathies of love choke us to overlook just what we are getting ourselves into. Perhaps, due to this, it is unspeakably hard to leave difficult relationships at its premonition. I just couldn't imagine cutting off my best friend. But I did. There comes a limit in our patience when we have to change something. We have to do something to save ourselves. Because nobody will understand you like yourself.

Indulgence and love are not the same thing. The blurred lines between them can be redrawn for your clear comprehension. You don't have to unhealthily devote your heart and soul to people whom you love; but take you for granted. It's hard, I know. It's hard to leave someone you love. But, you are the most important person in your life. Love might demand compromise, but it never demands the sale of your sanity. Never.

Love when you are ready to love.

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