On Love
There are many forces in this life that can push you to become better.
You can move through fear, joy, anger, jealousy, pain, or pride, but none of them are as powerful as love.
Love for the self.
Love for another.
Love for mutual investment and growth.
The world will give you plenty of opportunities to become jaded.
It will offer a constant, and often convincing, stream of evidence proving that people will fail you.
That the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.
That it’s hard out there and easier in here.
That you’d be foolish to keep trusting the unknown.
That believing isn’t worth it.
I want to offer you this instead:
The most profound act of rebellion is choosing to believe in love anyway.
To remain intentionally vulnerable in the face of that evidence.
To thank those who failed you for teaching you where your standards need to be.
To hold out for the real one, the one who never leaves you questioning your worth.
To choose love.
Happy Valentine’s Day. #AmorFati 💘
🖼️ Hero and Leander — Salvator Rosa, c. 1645
This painting draws from the Greek myth of Hero and Leander, two lovers separated by water, whose devotion to one another defied distance, danger, and social boundaries. Each night, Leander swam across the strait guided by Hero’s lamp. One stormy evening, the light was extinguished, and Leander drowned. Upon discovering his body, Hero followed him into the water.
Rosa’s interpretation captures the tragic intensity of love when devotion collides with the harshness of the world. The myth, like much of Greek tragedy, reflects the beauty and risk of choosing love in the face of forces beyond one’s control.
Context adapted from an article by Atorina Saliba, published by The Collector.