Love
Love and heartbreak are the root of so much around us. Songs, buildings, startups, cathedrals of every kind. I wonder, if we could trace every act of creation back to its emotional source, how many would map to love? How many to spite, or ambition, or pure devotion to the game? My guess is love dominates, especially in art, where even mourning... See more
To love is to let yourself be remade. To become someone else, not because you were incomplete, but because there are parts of you still waiting to be made real in the presence of another. And when you love someone like that, you offer them the same possibility: to explore their hidden selves and latent worlds, and to find, in your gaze, a home for... See more
On the Sydney train, I sometimes like to play a quiet game with myself, where I imagine each commuter through the eyes of someone who adores them. The oil-stained man becomes a gentle, loving father. The teenage girl biting her sleeve becomes someone’s irreplaceable best friend. The elderly woman with the fierce stare becomes a widow whose late... See more
To love well is to take part in someone else’s unfolding, even as they take part in yours.
He’s the heavy quilt you pull over your head when it’s too cold and too early to wake up. He’s the song no parent ever loved me enough to sing. He’s the way water runs and bubbles over stones in a stream. He’s a quiet mind.
Jessa Hastings • The Conditions of Will
“Isn’t it the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?” I stare up at the big arch, which is my favorite part, I think. “Even though it’s broken?” “Yep,” he says quietly, and he’s looking just at me.
Jessa Hastings • The Conditions of Will
A romantic endgame is something I’ve spent much of my adult(ish) life considering. It sounds ominous, and I guess it is in some ways, but so is love if you’re doing it properly. Ominous and hopeful in one fell swoop.
Jessa Hastings • The Conditions of Will
And I think to myself, wouldn’t it be so lovely if we viewed ourselves through the same lens as the people who love us?
Jessa Hastings • The Conditions of Will
But do not be misled. I am nothing special; of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts, and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough.