Love

Benjamin Franklin once said, "If you would be loved, love and be lovable." Love is something we are all in at least one time or another in our life. There are many different meanings for the word love and many people interpret it differently. Love as defined by Webster's dictionary is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. When you love someone you care not only care about them as a person, but also about their well being. When they are hurt, you feel hurt and when they are in pain you feel pain also. Their physical and emotional problems are not only theirs, but they are yours as well. To be in love means to care about that person so deeply that your life would not be complete without them. The fact that you cherish one person so much is a blessing to some, as well as a gift.

The following fable tells of an orphan girl who had all the happiness in the world.

"There is a wonderful fable about a young orphan girl who had no family and no one to love her. One day, feeling exceptionally sad and lonely, she was walking through the meadow when she noticed a small butterfly caught unmercifully in a thornbush. The more the butterfly struggled to free itself, the deeper the thorns cut into the butterfly from its captivity. Instead of flying away, the little butterfly changed into a beautiful fairy. The young girl rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

'For your wonderful kindness,' the good fairy said to the girl, 'I will grant you any wish you would like.'

The little girl thought for a moment and then replied, 'I want to be happy!'

The fairy said, 'Very well,' and leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. Then the good fairy vanished.

As the little girl grew up, there was no one in the land as happy as she. Everyone asked her the secret of her happiness. She would only smile and answer, 'The secret of my happiness is that I listened to a good fairy when I was a little girl.'

When she was very old and on her deathbed, the neighbors all rallied around her, afraid that her fabulous secret of happiness would die with her. 'Tell us, please,' the begged. 'Tell us what the good fairy said.'

The lovely old woman simply smiled and said, 'She told me that everyone, no matter how secure they seemed, no matter how old or young, how rich or poor, had need of me.