Tre metri sopra il cielo?

There’s a saying which says that love makes you feel like you can touch the sky. I once saw a movie in which the female lead asked the male lead if his love for her made him feel like he could touch the sky. He replied: tre metri sopra il cielo, or three meters over the sky. It makes you wonder; true love, does it really exist or is it just a myth? Do people really fall in love, or do they just become obsessed? Is love something we discover on our own or is it something we strive for like we have been taught since birth?

Like many people I ask myself is love an excuse to act different and not be yourself, an excuse to break the daily routine and have something to look forward to each and every day. Since I can remember, love to me seems like an addiction or a natural high. Most people seek love to get that wonderful feeling at the beginning where everything is perfect and they believe they have found happiness at last. As time passes by, the arguments begin, the jealousy takes over, neither side can remember what exactly was that made them fall in love, and heartbreak occurs. Inevitably the cycle repeats itself all over again for most people. Love in a way is like alcohol, when you first drink it you get this fun and wonderful buzz that makes you feel like you can touch the sky. After a while the buzz goes away and comes the depressing part known as the “hang over” during which you swear you will never go near another alcoholic beverage again. Inevitably the hangover fades and so does the feeling of never wanting to see, taste or even smell alcohol again; and the cycle repeats itself.

So if people fall in love knowing that it will end up in heartache does that make them pessimistic? On the other hand there are those who perceive love as a young girl does a rose. It is beautiful but it has hidden thorns that which pierce your skin and make you bleed. Yet she chooses to be ignorant and thinks the rose is so beautiful she decides to go through the rose bush and try to find the one with no thorns. So if people go into relationships expecting it will last a lifetime and believe they will find the typical movie or fairy tale ending should they be called fools or should we admire their bravery and determination?

In all truth love is like everything else in life, it is something that most have to work very hard at, it is fragile and very sensitive at first. It takes hard work and determination from both sides to make it work. It means knowing when to stand up for what’s right and also when to say you’re sorry, not only that but also compromise, finding a middle ground and a place that is comfortable and fair for both. Most people sit back and expect love to work for them, when it should be the other way around.

I used to think that love wasn’t real and that people were just masochists for even attempting to find love knowing it could end up in heartache. I’ve now come to realize that love isn’t fairy tale or a movie, it’s better than that. A few days ago I saw an old couple that were probably in their late sixties and they were holding hands and seemed very caring with each other, it made me realize that as long as people learn to see what is right in front of them then there is no question that love exists. I’ve also learned that if you learn to let go of all of those types of expectations love will inevitably find its way to you, but it’s up to you whether of not it can take you tre metri sopra il cielo and keep you there.

Norely "The Player"

LWC