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Love truly is a beautiful thing.
By Unwritten — Written on Apr 09, 2022
By Ashlyn Thomson
I am a sucker for love, so let’s start there.
I love love — I love people in love, people who love their lives, love their kids, love their pets. Anything that has to do with love makes me very happy. Heck, I love the word "love."
I admire those who find it and stay committed to it; those who find it within themselves, and those who find it in a career. Love surrounds us at all times. It’s in the air, at work, in traffic, in grocery stores, and in schools.
Simply put, it’s everywhere. This beautiful emotion can truly impact our lives, but it also has the power to pin us down, leaving us unable to breathe.
During the 21 years I was alive on this planet, the examples of unconditional love I experienced were extinct. Instead, I saw it in a negative way through my childhood and fell into relationships that also portrayed that same kind of affection.
It wasn’t until I met this one person that my perspective changed.
He served me his heart on a platter, asking to be touched. He is patient, kind, and giving. He is romantic, hopeful, thoughtful, and a constant adventurer like me.
He enjoys late-night drives to the top of the mountain. He enjoys driving me to work, so we get an extra few minutes of alone time. And most of all, he enjoys growing with me.
Now, I am not only stronger and more resilient, but I’m also a kinder, gentler, and more patient person who finally understands love, life, and herself.
He’s given me the greatest gift of all time — a chance to see and be for all that I am and all that I am not.
He’s shown me sides of myself that I could never have imagined existed. He’s opened dark chambers with deadbolts on every corner while showing me how possible it is to surpass the safety of my comfort zone where I was avoiding true love.
I thought I knew what love was, but then I met him.
One blissful night, amid the end, there he was, creeping in my entryway. His anxious body stood lengthy in the doorway as his bulky arm caressed the trim, and his broad shoulder rested upon the door frame. I fought off the feelings of safety and greed and instead triggered my usual blockade of emotions.
We played through the night, hand in hand, lips on lips, skin on skin, all the while I fought the urge to curl up and give him my heart.
His body language was new, different, and patient. I knew it was right, but I was afraid to dive in. In all honesty, I was afraid to change. I knew that if I let this boy in, if I let him show me what a healthy relationship looked like, then I’d really have to change my style of loving.
It’s been a journey of growth, desire, and progress, but I’m ever so glad that I made the transition.
To you, my love, to the one I’ve learned to love: You are my rock, my shield, my partner, and my person.
You’re my travel co-pilot, my grocery store straggler, my safety net, and the keeper of my heart. Without you, I’d still be running from the concept of what we now have.
I’d be running from peace, from joy, and from the possibility of losing the one I desire. I’d be on a lonely path, destined for destruction. But instead, we are on the path of adventure, of living a good life, and of honest and true connections.
Our lives have become one. And there is no one more destined to create and share my life experiences with than you. There is no one I’d rather share my dreams, daily adventures, and my future with.
You often provide me with an intense look into our future, and it ignites a spark within my soul that reminds me, in perfect unity, that I will be okay.
Together we are unstoppable, and I look forward to our wild adventures, our late-night FaceTime calls, and the many tubs of ice cream we will devour before bed.
I’m so glad I have met the one who always provides me with a high dose of patience, support, dedication, and honesty. Within this small amount of time, he’s managed to reroute my belief system in terms of love and life, all while showing me his best self and challenging me to step up and meet him halfway.
Love truly is a beautiful thing, and I am so grateful to have found a healthy match. Someone with whom I now get to live the rest of my life, someone who unconditionally loves me and who I love back.
I still love love. I still love seeing people in love, people showing off their love, and people talking about their loves. But I do have to admit that I think my guy does it best.
Catch you in the AM, M.
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Ashlyn Thomson is a writer and musician who writes primarily about relationships, money, and self-improvement topics. Visit her author profile for more.
This article was originally published at Unwritten. Reprinted with permission from the author.