The Soul That Desires to Love

Until recently, I used to think extensively about love: love as weakness, love as armor, and love as desire.

Desire as the overwhelming and uncontrollable longing for a subjective need; the need for a kind of love that transcends the boundaries of the physical and the emotional, something we might call loving with one's soul.

But perhaps the soul does not exist, or at least that is what we tend to believe. The soul, after all, carries many meanings, one of which is its understanding as intelligence, as explored in Socrates' philosophy.

The soul is truth and intelligence residing within us. It is that which possesses us, that which tells us what to do and what not to do, what to say and how to respond.

So, is it possible to love with one's entire soul, with one's very being?

For me, even if it may sound confusing, I do love with my entire soul. Because my whole intellect is capable of recognizing the other as a being worthy of love. It grants them profound recognition within a part of me. In doing so, I recognize the other not merely as someone to be loved, but also as a living, capable being; alive within consciousness, alive within the truth of my own existence.

Why should something so precious be considered a weakness? Even if it makes us vulnerable, is it not beautiful to witness and experience such a magnificent gift?

Pain, too, can be experienced and even loved. It can be embraced, because it is part of the process, part of discovering the truth hidden within us and holding on to it with all our strength. To embrace it means coming to know different states of being, perhaps ones that remained unknown to us while we were immersed in the pleasure of love.

Pain and love coexist within the soul, because the soul is something that unfolds with every passing moment, with every minute spent thinking of you.

And so, to me, the soul is myself. The soul is the self trapped within consciousness; consciousness longing to become a soul, the soul longing to become love.