(I) CHOOSE LOVE

An ode to all my hopeless romantics inspired by a photo I found on Tumblr.

Untitled by Unknown Artist

I choose love.

Why?

Because I love love.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

—1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 (NIV)

Love is safe.

Love is home.

Now, despite my tumultuous upbringing, I’ve always had a strong admiration for the emotion.

The feeling.

The action.

Witnessing how the most powerful psychedelic of them all

Can turn out to be a good trip or a bad one—

A path of raw passion, devotion, and clarity

Or one of delusions, chaos and confusion.

To see what lengths a person will go.

To feel how much one’s love can grow.

That is why I take my love so seriously.

The feeling knows no limits.

The action is unconditional.

The security in knowing you and your bond are highly-valued and can stand all tests is what’s important to a woman like me.

The comfort in knowing you can be completely soft and vulnerable with the person that brings you so much peace and excitement.

The intention between two people who are so into one another and the world they plan on creating together.

The realness in being able to show up as yourself and be accepted as yourself--all versions of yourself.

The passion between two lovers who are so much in love, nothing else matters when they’re together or apart.

The unquestionable loyalty and respect.

I’m turned on just thinking about it all.

I choose love.

The thought of being loved the way I want to be loved—the way I need to be loved—makes my heart flutter. My body gets sensual chills at the thought of having one person I can share my whole being and experiences with while continuing to explore God’s beautiful creation called Earth

Mind.

Body.

Heart.

Soul.

Me.

All for him … or her.

Who knows.

Let’s not underestimate the power of platonic love either.

To show love for someone without conditions or expectations.

Platonic love is the foundation for long-lasting romantic love which is why it’s so important; if not, more important than romantic love.

Platonic love shows how unconditional one’s love really is.

That’s just the truth of the matter.

Which is why I can’t wait to build that love into a romantic one with my person.

To do things intentionally.

To take things slow.

I can’t wait to sing obnoxiously to old school R&B with my lover.

I can’t wait to make and receive playlists and poems professing our love and longing for each other.

I can’t wait to constantly indulge in physical touch and quality time and show endless displays of affection—publicly and privately.

I can’t wait to be studied, heard, seen, understood, cared for, and valued by that special someone.

For my love languages and quirky doings to be taken note of with positive intentions.

Acts of Service/Gifts

Quality Time

Physical Touch

Words of Affirmation

Gifts

—in that order.

(yes, gifts are on the list twice because I’m a Nigerian woman first always).

For me to be open to love.

To choose love.

To not have the need to build walls around my heart because I know I can trust freely.

To be led by a person who is led by God.

To comfortably submit to a person that is humble enough to submit to me.

To be loved so good like in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 that it encourages me to love harder.

To make love so good, my body transcends to a level of sexual bliss filled with raw adoration and passion.

To bring life into this world with the person that makes me melt at the sound of my pet name coming from their mouth.

To break generational curses and build an empire of generational wealth with my God-sent teammate.

To heal and share the abundance of love I know I have in my heart with the one that’s most deserving.

I want to take an active part in maintaining a safe space for me and my lover.

I want to be a person of peace and reasoning.

I want to be free of judgement.

I want to embody and be a vessel for what God defines love to be.

So that when it’s my turn to bring life into this world, my children can have a true life example of what real love feels like when it’s their turn to find love.

If you couldn’t tell already, I, myself, am a shameless hopeless romantic (and will forever be one). But let’s be real. As a human being, who doesn’t want to be in love? To experience love? That is what we’re put on this earth to do. With the hope that one day we’ll say “I do.”

And if you don’t get that far, at the very least live on this earth

To have

To share

To choose

Love

You owe it to yourself.

You only live once on this planet.

You have to create the life you envision for yourself.

Embody the love you want for yourself.

It’s easier said than done, but it’s doable and that’s what matters.

Follow your gut.

Listen to your heart.

Choose love.

“Love your neighbor as you love yourself. That is the greatest commandment of them all”

—Matthew 22: 39-40 (NIV)