Love: The Life Without
“Man is a social animal.”
When Aristotle said that, he revealed more about humanity than humanity was ready to accept. We evolved to live in a community. We are bound by feelings, emotions, and the need for each other. But what happens when we no longer live in a community, when giving love feels like a chore, and when we are so frustrated that we forget to express anything but frustration?
The idea of family was the natural transformation from the idea of community. Families were designed to help each other out and grow together. A child growing up in such families would often be doted upon by many people around him. Such a child will grow up thinking he is important, that he matters, and so does his family. He would go to any length to take care of the family.
Over the years, we have grown wealthier, greedier, and more intolerant of different opinions. Large families broke into smaller ones. The smaller ones then broke further to the point that only two people could stay together; anything more would cause trouble. They have nothing to add to each other’s lives, they have no common goal apart from their mutual greed, and they have cut all ties from the places where they could receive unconditional love. As the families became nuclear, so did their love. Love was now reduced to a transaction.
A child who grows up in a family where love becomes a transaction thinks he needs to do something to get love. He needs to be obedient, smart, and worthy of his parents’ love. What would happen if their parents forget about the child’s need for love? It’s a common occurrence because everyone is running with their need for love. We all want someone to love us unconditionally. We are all devoid of love more than we think.
When a child devoid of love grows into a teenager, he believes he doesn’t deserve love because to get love, he will need to do something. So, he develops a strange behavior pattern, getting involved with people who aren’t good for him but fool him enough to make him believe he is wanted. Before the child realizes, his behavior is transformed. His definition of love is twisted in his head.
A man who has never received love will never know what love feels like. The one who doesn’t understand unconditional love will never be able to love unconditionally. The vicious cycle continues and ruins generation after generation. The solution to this problem is the one we absolutely hate: Families. Create families, love someone unconditionally, and see the joy in the eyes of a child who knows he is loved.
If you, as a child, were devoid of love, make sure you shower your child with all the love that you think you deserved. That’s the only way to make the world a little better.