Is It Easier To Love Or To Be Loved?
Leaving aside the different aspirations in life, love is the universal goal of every human being seeking a prosperous and fulfilled existence. We all seek appreciation and love from our beloved ones, and we try to return the favor to them as well.
In a perfect world, we give love and receive love in an equal measure. Though the reality, as we've seen and felt, is backwards. We fall in love with those who do not feel the same about us, just as others fall in love with us, but there's no attraction towards them whatsoever.
To Love
Humans are mostly selfish beings by nature. At the end of the day, we put ourselves in the first place and seek what's best for us. But what happens when we meet the 'love of our life'? We suddenly feel as if our entire existence circles around that person. We are stripped of our armor and wish that our feelings are mutual and our love is requited. We open ourselves up, even while knowing that we become vulnerable.
If our hopes are crushed, will we have time to heal? Will we be able to conceive the innocent love we once used to? Only time can show the answer to these questions, but we should never shy away from loving, even if the risk is immense.
It can seem really easy to fall in love, but the hardship lies together with the other party. If we love our significant other and they love us back, wonderful! But what happens if we end up in a relationship where our partner does not show the same affection to us? Simply put - the relationship is destined for a trainwreck.
There is no possible way there can be a loving relationship that is one-sided. It will ultimately lead to pain, and the suffering will be far greater for the loving party.
To Be Loved
We can only ever fully understand the consequences of love once we've experienced it ourselves. Being loved brings certain appeal for us as human beings, as it grows our confidence and makes us feel attractive. Being loved will not put us in any danger - we are not experiencing the same emotions. But in fact, it entitles us to a great responsibility, because we are accountable for the other person's emotions.
Of course, it is only viable in a relationship - if we feel like we haven't developed the same feelings for our significant other, it will leave them in a great deal of pain. Though if someone expresses their love and affection to us without any relationship status, we are not guilty for these feelings - it is only natural. We can only understand others, as we have been in those shoes, but we should never take advantage it.
This is the exact reason why one could say that being loved is certainly easier than loving. There must be mutual feelings in order to be successful in forming a great relationship with another person. If one party does not love the other party, it is bound to fail one way or another, but the greatest fall is for the one who loved the most.
In my humble opinion based on experience, it will always be easier to be loved than to love. As strange as it may sound, the one who is loved holds the most power. He will suffer far less pain, or no pain for that matter.
"The problem with human attraction is not knowing if it will be returned."
- Becca Fitzpatrick
Thank you for reading.
wonderfully written post, but I arrive at the opposite conclusion... that it is easier "to love".
For TO love, all we need do is maintain a consistent positive approach to life/relationships including any significant other. If a love relationship grows from this all the better. If not, we still are loving individuals as we proceed through life.
But to BE loved requires a strong sense of self such that we don't get lost in "being loved". I understand what you mean in your concluding paragraph.. in a sense Being Loved is kind of a no-brainer. But it really IS a challenge just to be able to handle being loved for some people.. and to not feel weird or guilty that you may not feel the same way about the person whom is loving you.
So "practicing love" is more in-line with self-improvement than simply "being loved" in my humble view of such things. But thanks for breaching the subject, probably the most important subject of all!
Thank you for your opinion :). I agree - it is a challenge to handle being loved. But still, in my opinion, even if you are uncomfortable in handling love from others, it still leaves the opposite side in a much more serious downfall.
I can recall one of my experiences - I was deeply in love with a person who did not share the same affection towards me. Once this came to realization, I experienced some very sad feelings, whereas the other party presumably did not suffer at all.
But I understand where you're coming from. It's different for everyone. Thanks for reading.
Being loved by some one is such good feelings
This post has received a 0.42 % upvote from @booster thanks to: @cheaky.
Well-written and interesting post!
I would say which is more difficult depends on the situation. Certainly if you love someone who is unaware or doesn't care, you are the only one suffering.
On the other hand, if you are aware that someone loves you, and you are an empathetic and caring person, you may feel a lot of guilt and pain over the other person's plight. Feeling that you should love them back, but unable to. Wanting to make them feel better, but unable to.
Which is harder in the second case? I'm not sure.
Great writing:) this is a very complex subject. I agree that it’s very painful to Love and have your Heart broken, but it can be very difficult to be Loved and knowing you’re not in the same page. I belive in Love! I want to Love & Be Loved, as we all! ❤️❤️❤️
To be or not to be...that is the question?...or is to be-loved
or not to allow your self love,
that is the question...yes self worth has lots to do with what you have shared..which I am constantly learning.
I sense a profoundly honest heart. Thank you for your share.