All You Need Is Love

Attending my cousin's wedding made me reflect on a few things, namely, how do people get together, fall in love and end up being sure of spending the rest of their lives together? My cousin and his new wife are not those couples who have fun with each other, or go out and enjoy themselves all the time. Rather, I see more love in them than others I have come across.

How do I know they really love each other? Love itself is a big word. So many people have claimed they love each other, but in the end not willing to compromise or accommodate or be there for each other. In my cousin and his wife, I see them working towards the same goals. They are both family-oriented. He makes the effort to infuse into her culture, and she makes the effort to infuse into ours. She helps him to bring our family around.

Both of them are bride and groom one day, then chauffeur, tour guides, organisers, caterers another day. The thing is they did all these with no questions, with no complaints. They got the confirmed guest list, and started planning our accommodation, our tours, our transport, our pick-up from and back to the airport. They even allowed us to stay a night at their place!

We were there to attend their wedding, they should be the guest of honours, not us! They could have just left for their honeymoon the next day, instead they stayed around for another week, ensuring we are comfortable and well taken-care of. And for that, I take my hats off to them.

My cousin converted to a Buddhist after his trip to India seven years back and his wife is a born Catholic, as 80% of Maltese are Catholics. Yet he has no qualms getting married in a Catholic church, talking to the priest and his parents-in-law about religion and nirvana. Now how many guys I know will do that? He is so sweet as to even offer to change to her surname as he still has two brothers but she only has a sister.

If this is love, then I am all for it! It makes me feel rather ashamed of myself. I used to think I know so much about what love is, but I realise now that whatever I know of love is but a fraction of what my cousin and his wife shares.

Love is not just physical intimacy or the feeling of attraction; rather it encompasses much more. It encompasses something deeper. It is commitment, the willingness to forgive and share, the willingness to give without complaints, and the tolerance, accommodation and compromise both parties have for each other and their respective families.

A marriage should have all these things before it can work. A relationship and marriage does not survive on just love alone without the rest factoring in. So I ended up asking myself, am I really ready for marriage? Do I know how to love in this way? And the answer is yes, I believe that I, too, am able to love in this way. When that happens, then I am truly ready to start a life with the one.

For that, I shall close with this song quite close to my heart. The lyrics depict exactly what I am feeling :

All You Need Is Love - The Beatles

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love

There's nothing you can do that can't be done
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy

There's nothing you can make that can't be made
No one you can save that can't be saved
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be in time
It's easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love,
Love is all you need

Love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love, love

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love,
Love is all you need

There is nothing you can know that isn't known
Nothing you can see that isn't shown
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
It's easy

All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need

All you need is love (all together now)
All you need is love (everybody)
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need