You cannot say to the sun, “More sun.”
Or to the rain, “More rain.”
Arthur Golden in Memoirs of a Geisha
Madame Butterfly’s latest run at the Metropolitan Opera ended last week fluttering on to other world stages, for who isn’t fascinated by the exotic? Who isn’t intrigued by the mystery of the geisha? Who doesn’t want a faithful lover who pines for our return–when and if we feel like it?
My young daughter tells her brother “I love you” and waits for him to reciprocate. He–brothers being the way they are–rolls his eyes and she cries indignantly, “But he’s supposed to love me back!”
I assured her that loving someone doesn’t make him obligated to love you back. And to remind them that childhood sibling squabbles are practice for dealing with their future spouses, I added, “Even when you’re married.”
“Ha!” My son laughed incredulous, “Even with my wife?!”
Yes, we are free to love as we choose. And there’s no greater freedom than in loving simply because.
Special thanks to Mountain for the quote he shared in response to the “Love After Love” poem on this blog’s “Be Divine” page:
True love begins when nothing is looked for in return. -Antoine De Saint-Exupery 
© Sharon Birke
201 697 1947
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