On one hand: it just flows. You can't get enough of them. Your eyes, their eyes—could be the only thing that matters in the whole world. Their voice hits you like electricity. When alone, you wonder why you aren't with them. Mundane things, at their side, become adventures. You occupy your own universe that is a secret from all others.
And on the other hand: it is a labor. Your beloved, who stirs and ignites your affection so much, is also the one who most exposes your pride and weaknesses. As you dive into them and truly know them, you discover they are broken and selfish and human. And they discover that about you. The easy slide down the snowy hill of excitement becomes a long drag back up the other side.
But then the two of you put those parts together: combine the thrill and the sparkle with the messiness and the suffering. Your together love becomes something deeper and more enduring. You say: I see you fully but I choose you still, with all my heart and soul.
It becomes something that will withstand any storms that may come, something more mature and tested:
"Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction." —Antoine de Saint-Exupery:
Mar 1, 2025
Related Recs
❤️
i think of love as an ongoing earnest conversation. it’s about laying your cards on the table with full trust and trying to do and give your best. we say falling in love very colloquially but loving necessitates intentionality and relevant expression. to do that, you need to be ok with constantly re-examining the terrain of your relationships and willing to honestly communicate needs and wants. love requires a lot from you but it’s so incredibly worth it to watch the eyes of the person you love light up because you tried for them. applies to other forms of love not just romantic of course!
May 15, 2024
🤍
love is beautiful. love is pure. love is enduring.
i’m not sure if my standards for love are too high, but i worry i don’t mean it. i’d change my character, overcome weaknesses for those i say it to, yet it never feels like enough. i want to embrace someone not only through touch, but through the warmth of my actions and presence.
love knows no bounds. i want to break every single wall a person can put up. still, i know there are limits to love. love is undefined—it is not a singular, universal concept for every person. i fear i can never truly portray my love for another without everything crashing down, whether due to the walls we’ve built to shield ourselves from the world or to passing circumstances.
maybe i’m not concerned about my feelings for others. maybe the words “i love you” don’t quite serve me justice. still, from this new perspective, it’s an affectionate, enkindling acknowledgement to give another—akin to kissing your loved one on the cheek each morning before leaving for work.
love: a word that can be used for anyone, whether platonically or romantically. we really should say these words shamelessly to those around us every day. it’s a marvel to think over what true love means to you and how it can vary from person to person. i think this is what makes it beautiful.
your idea of love will fit into another’s idea of love. i hope everyone who reads this is lucky enough to find that person they mesh together with.^^
Mar 9, 2025
❤️
truly nothing has altered my life in the way romantic love has. I was always so afraid of vulnerability and touch but once you start and even fail, you grow so much. Honestly, the trials of it are the most revealing. It seems so so scary but it is worth it always. And you both have to start from somewhere!! You are lucky that you’re friends and can hopefully work on communicating what you both are feeling in this moment as well.
Maybe it does come a lonely place, but imagine if you healed that loneliness? Or even got an inch closer to understanding how to fill that void?
The relationship may not be forever. This is true of any relationship. Have you had a turbulent friendship so far? If there are situations where this person tried to purposefully hurt your feelings, I’d reconsider. Otherwise, if you’re honest and communicative along the way, I think you could maintain that stability with them. I’d find ways to keep your sanity as well (journaling, going on walks, talking with [other] friends), as someone who has felt “crazy” in love
It’s hard to change and allow change into your life. But how will you know what life could be like if you don’t try? It’s hard to force yourself to do it. I’m such a worrier; I even started writing fears and desires down about the slightest changes, only to look back days later even to see that they’re resolved and petty. Change can hurt you and scare you and make you look back at your past self and wonder how that was your life before these moments, but it is always worth trying something different, seeing your life in a different light.
One of my favorite quotes is from “Giovanni’s Room” by James Baldwin:“Somebody….your father or mine, should have told us that not many people have ever died of love. But multitudes have perished, and are perishing every hour--and in the oddest places!-- for the lack of it.”
This is all very lovey-dovey but I really think it’s worth seeing if it works, openly communicating with this person, and letting the change pass over you!
Nov 18, 2024
Top Recs from @mattshawsome
🛑
this is worthy of celebration: the lack of video—autoplay video, noisy inane video, panicky video, algorithmic, dumb video, rabbit hole video, any video—on pi.fyi is a good thing
Oct 5, 2024
🥾
this is going to hurt — A LOT — but it's getting to the point where there's no other option
Mar 11, 2025