Love Would Never Leave Us Alone
Bob Marley on Falling & Staying in Love
" I wanna love you and treat you right;
I wanna love you every day and every night"
Beyond his highly merchandised face, overplayed music, and global icon Peace & Love status, legendary Jamaican reggae artist, Bob Marley, was a revolutionary in the most noble sense of the word. Highlighted by social justice and solidarity, the one underlying and recurring theme in all of Bob Marley’s work was Love: from the individual to the universal. In his 36 years of short, well-loved life, he became one of the most powerful examples of the power of art to creunite people of different nationalities, background, education, social status, skin color - under the same human, original constellation.
Real love isn’t a fairy tale or a Hollywood production but a revolutionary force capable of turning your life upside down and challenging everything you thought you knew. Love is, essentially, change.
Here are some of the most beautiful and life-altering symptoms of such love, in the longest quote on the subject, attributed to Bob Marley.
'Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you.
When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful.
There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are.
The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colors seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all.
A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you.
You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon.
You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you.
You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.'
But after the initial rocket-heart scientific discovery, when your spaceship lands, Love (like Life) is a journey and if you want to keep your travel companion near, you may need to add more substance to your trail mix.
On loving Her (or Him):
'You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters?'
On loving Him (or Her):
'He’s not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can. He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break.
Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect for more than he can give. Don’t analyze. Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.'
And when it seems like a losing game,
'The winds that sometimes take something we love, are the same that bring us something we learn to love. Therefore we should not cry about something that was taken from us, but, yes, love what we have been given. Because what is really ours is never gone forever.'
* * *
Me only have one ambition, you know. I only have one thing I really like to see happen. I like to see mankind live together - black, white, Chinese, everyone - that's all.
Bob Marley
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