The Commonality of Love and Grief

Do we understand love and grief, and how might they be linked? Both emotions are all-consuming and seize us when we are least expecting.  There are many types of love. but I’m talking about the shared love between two adults in a committed relationship. During my life, I have twice experienced love and grief.

 There are hundreds of definitions of love, and not all apply to our individual phycological experience. I couldn’t find the source, but someone stated, “True love is a selfless act.” It’s when you continually put your significant other at the center of your existence.

The Songs of Solomon in the Old Testament of the Bible gave me another perception of what love is.

“Set me as a seal upon your heart,

as a seal upon your arm,

for love is strong as death,

jealousy is fierce as the grave.

Its flashes are flashes of fire,

the very flame of the Lord.

Many waters cannot quench love,

neither can floods drown it…”

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