Love … with no strings attached

Attachment they say, is a virtue. Are ‘they ‘… right? We feel attached in many ways. Friends, relatives, property, things we have got used to, old ideas, long-held views … everything that gives a feeling of “mine”. These are symbols of attachment. We have love for our object of attachment. This is good. We feel that we should forever possess it. This is not so good.

When we feel attached to something, our perspective becomes one-track. We want our object of attachment to be exactly the way we want!

“My daughter should become a Doctor!”
“My sweetheart should forever agree with me!”
“My friend should not talk to that guy whom I don’t like!”
“My son should never leave my side!"
“My Grandpa should never die!”
“No, what I have thought correct for 50 long years can’t be wrong!”

We derive a sense of satisfaction from the relationship of attachment. Change scares us. We feel that if we grant independence to the attached, it would break free from us! Then what would we do? No longer will we derive pleasure from that old relationship! Attachment imposes conditions on behaviour. It is this feeling of attachment which is a bondage.

Love on the other hand, is pure. It is unconditional. It helps us look at things from the other’s perspective. We want the loved one to be happy, we derive our happiness from the others’. Love does not demand. Love is never selfish. It always gives. It is always encouraging. It spreads joy.

We hear of so many love affairs that go awry. If someone does not return the other’s love, the lover feels heartbroken! We hear of suicides, murders, hatred … all in the name of Love. A Love today turned to hatred tomorrow because of a small misunderstanding… Is this Love? No.

Pure Love exists only when there are no strings attached. It gives genuine and lasting happiness. When we give with no desire for a return, when we love another from the heart, wishing him or her the best in everything, when we stop not to see how we can gain… it is this free form of Love, of togetherness which is wonderful! It knows no boundaries. It knows no distances. It never gives way to misunderstandings, misgivings, and other misfortunes. The loved one lives in the heart. That’s all that matters.