Love's Risk

There is a risk involved in everything
Everytime you share a smile
Everytime you shed a tear
You are opening yourself up to hurt.

Some people tread slowly through life,
Avoiding the risk closeness brings,
Side-stepping the things they can't understand
Turning away from those who care too much,
those who care stay too long, those who hold too tightly.

There is never an easy way to love
You can not approach it cautiously
It will not wait for you to arm yourself.
It does not care if you turn away
it is everywhere, it is everything.

Love is the greatest of all risks.
It is not reliable, it is not cautious, it is not sympathetic.
It is unprejudiced and unmerciless.
It strikes the strongest of mind,
and brings them to their knees in one blow.

Even in the best of times, love hurts.
It hurts to need, it hurts to belong,
It hurts to become the other part of someone else,
without either of your consent.
But, from the moment it overtakes you,
it hurts worse to be all alone.

The risk of love never depletes;
It grows stronger and more dangerous with time.
But, it is in this total surrender of all defense,
That we, no matter weak or strong, no matter willing or captive,
no matter what, we truly experience love.

Despite the many things love is not, outweighing it all are the things that love
is. Love is surrender without a loss; it is a gift without the cost. It consumes
your every thought and your every desire,
every breath you take.
It is the fire that fuels you to do more than pass through life;
it urges you to live.

No matter the outcome, having felt love, you will never be the same.
It may scar your heart and soul and leave you only memories of forever.
Or, it may cause every day of your life to feel like there is no need for
tomorrow. But, love, it is worth it, it is worth the risk...
for in all of life, it is truly the only risk worth taking.