Lamps

We often feel so deeply of sadness that we overlook our blessings' overlook the people who, when sadness hits, was there for us to help weather the storm. People whose presence often feel so normal, so expected in our lives that they become more of a furniture... or a lamp. We never really recognize that it's there until it isn't.

Sometimes, we forget to appreciate what these lamps do to our lives. To our days--and most importantly, to our nights. To the days when it's too dark for us to see or read the signs. To the nights when we feel lonely, scared, and unlovable while contemplating everything that has passed us by in life. We forget to appreciate how, just by a simple act of turning on the lights, everything will be brighter. The darkness bearable. The loneliness easier.

Without them, we only exist for half of the time that we are awake--that we are in this world. Without them, we're a lost cause. 

These are the people so selfless, with so much love to share and give out to people, that often we don't realize that they are a self too. They can be as vulnerable as we all are. They need to be loved. They give out so much love despite fully aware that nobody is probably able to love them the way they do to everyone else. They radiate joy and happiness despite having their own battles unspoken, unnoticeable to most people--most people who are too selfish, too ignorant of anyone's feelings other than their own.

Love is a very tricky thing. People love and be loved differently. We have been taught that there are so many ways to express love, and just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they love you any less. But that is not fair for these people. These people who were gifted with the knowledge on how to treat the people they love, even when they are not treated the same way. Love, for them, isn't always reciprocal--but they love anyway. Because they have too much love in them, and, I don't know. Maybe it is their reason to live, too.

My wish, for these people, is that one day they will find their own lamps. Their own piece of furniture. The person who would love them for who they are. The person who would help them weather their storm, fight their demons, and treat them with the kind of respect, love, and grace, that they give out to everyone else for free. The person who would know how to love them. The person who can finally convince them to be a little selfish--to put themselves first instead of anyone else. The person who would love themselves better. The person who, hopefully, is already in their lives--but is working on improving how to appreciate them better. Because just because somebody doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they love you any less--maybe they are struggling to figure out how.