This friend recently told me that in his opinion, there are two forms of love - Ideal Love & Daily Love. When I queried him on his definitions, he explained them to me.
Ideal Love is basically what poets & romance novelists all write about. Where there is Ideal Love, lovers do not fight over trivial everyday things. Neither will they see faults in each other. And best of all, Ideal Love is seen through rose-tinted glasses. Everything is so perfect.
On the other hand, couples with a Daily Love have a more mundane existence. They fight over trivial daily things. They see glaring faults in each other which tend to drive each other crazy. And best yet, their love gets tested every step of the way. No rose-tinted glasses exist for such lovers.
When asked, my friend told me that it is a lot easier for two people to maintain an idealised form of Love when two people don't live together, or see each other every day. And ideally, these two people have only seen the good side of each other's personality. Basically, with idealised Love, everything is positive & good.
In contrast, Daily Love forces the lovers to see each other's good & bad points because they most likely live together or see each other often. Financial difficulties, sickness, unemployment, etc all pose problems for such lovers.
Personally, I believe that if a person is lucky enough to experience both idealised love & Daily Love, that person is blessed. So long as that person is able to differentiate between the two.
Where does one find Ideal Love? Well, it's hard to say. Personally, I believe it can be found between very close male & female friends. The feelings of Love are intense & often, such emotions are accompanied by feelings of yearning for the other person. Yet, no real attempts are made to fulfill that yearning. There may be frank admissions of such feelings between the parties concerned but, there is also an understanding that their professed Love should be left unconsumated. Especially when both parties are married to other people who may or may not be aware of the situation.
It can be painful for both parties or one party because of the constant yearning which will most likely never be fulfilled. Perhaps over time, the feelings will subside. Then again, perhaps they will strengthen even more. Who's to say? I guess it will all depend on the parties involved. How they deal with their intense feelings for each other play a crucial role in maintaining that uneasy balance.
To conclude, despite the complications that might arise from Ideal Love, a person who is fortunate enough to experience it will forever treasure that special feeling...I know that I will...
