My dad keeps one of those Love Is…statues on his workbench in the garage; it’s been there ever since I can remember. My mom once told me that she had given it to him when they were dating back in the 70s, and I remember liking the idea of that. That’s love, I remember thinking.

I was going through my own “love phase” as a teenager then — falling in love with the idea of love and, soon, falling in love myself for the first time.

Back then, though, I think I equated love solely with romance. Sure, I loved my family and friends, but real love was supposed to be reserved for that special someone: real love meant long hugs and secret kisses and a flower pressed into a scripted journal documenting your story. Real love was late night talks before falling asleep holding hands, early morning highway drives, and summer walks through a field and writing messages in the snow.

Real love belonged to sweet hellos and long goodbyes and everything in that starry-eyed in-between.

Photo Credit: Getty Images – Dimitri Vervitsiotis

That was what I believed in then, when I was falling in love for the first time. It was the innocence of a first love that lasted years, those tender moments where the heart felt like it could spill over from joy, where magic crackled on the air, and the world was alive in color and wonder and it lit your soul on fire.

As I’ve grown up, though, I’ve realized that I’ve been foolish to believe love is reserved for anything or anyone. Love, I’ve learned, is ever so much more.

Love is your parents, answering tear-filled phone calls in the middle of their night as you’re on your own in another country, homesick and seeking comfort. Love is that comfort that crosses oceans, soothing words and unwavering belief heard through a phone line and calming your heart.

Love is family.

Love is your best friend, armed with their own life preserver of movies and ice cream and an evening of together as they help you tread water when the weight of the world threatens to drag you under, whose laughter and presence helps to keep you afloat. Love is this best friend, who knows you inside and out, who builds memory after memory with you, walking side by side, who you know will be there for all of your life.

Love is friendship.

Love is the soulful eyes of a four-legged friend as he watches you leave in the early mornings, the joyful howl and wagging tail as you return each evening, and the gentle presence of innocence as you curl up at night. Love is having this precious little trouble-maker who needs you, just as you need him, this quiet soul to calm you, who is every bit your saving grace as you are his.

Love is this.

Love is the homeless woman wandering the city square, bending down to greet a dog and walking on with a smile gracing her face.

Love is sitting by the river in your old college town, a favorite book resting in your hands, watching the afternoon light play peacefully on the water.

Love is wandering unfamiliar city streets, tired and lost, only to be greeted by new friends and good souls who will show you the way.

Love is everywhere.

I once thought that love was reserved only for family and friends and once-upon-a-time romance. But I’ve learned, now, that it’s so much deeper than that. The heart has the capacity for so much more.

Love is the people we meet who change our lives for the better, for a moment or for a lifetime.

Love is the things we see that make us believe in humanity, in the hope for a better world and the beauty of tomorrow.

Love is the little moments that are never forgotten, kept close and stored in the secret spaces of our hearts.

Love is everything.

All You Need Blogger: Susan Pogorzelski

Channeling T. S. Eliot, Susan is a banker by day and a freelance writer by night. One of her many passions is exploring the world around her — both literally and figuratively.  She enjoys asking questions through her creative writing on Typescript and reflecting on her personal experiences on twenty(or)something. She loves history, technology, and culture, and is convinced that dogs equal happiness.  You can follow her on Twitter @20orsomething

Song: John Lennon – Love

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