November 25, 2005

Friendship on Fire

I recently saw the DVD of the “The Perfect Man”. The picture stars Hilary Duff and Heather Locklear. You can thus very easily and quite rightly assume that it was not exactly a movie teeming with intellectual profundity. However, there was this one exquisite line in the film that unexpectedly leapt right into my head and remained hopelessly lodged in the inner recesses of my subconscious.

The line consisted of five simple words:

Love is friendship on fire.

It does not get any truer than this.

My husband and I dated exclusively for eight years before tying the knot. Now, after more than four years of marriage, we are still going strong. During the course of our being together, people have often asked me how we have managed to happily remain in a long-term relationship. Frequently, I would find myself smiling back dumbly, in an utter loss for words. For really, how can one accurately encapsulate the underlying essence of a bond so magnificently complex, so ridiculously multifaceted and so incredibly overwhelming?

At last I believe I have found the most fitting answer. Plainly put, my husband and I share a friendship on fire. We are each other’s best friend; there is no one else in the world we are as comfortable with. Yet, amidst the security and stability of companionship lies a fiery zeal for each other that keeps the romance alive.

Friendship alone does not suffice; you can have many great friends. And passion on its own, no matter how heated and thrilling at first, will fizzle out in the end. It is only upon discovering that you share with someone that singularly fabulous mix of camaraderie and passion that you know you have a love worth living for and dying for.

So all you out there in search of the perfect life mate, you would do well to take to heart this precious little nugget:

Choose well and find a love that is friendship on fire.

DVD not included.

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