Interpreting love

I've probably written more than 30 songs about love.

Songs about falling in love, chasing love, dreaming of love, being in love... losing love, grieving love... I guess, much like a wannabe Taylor Swift, I've never been able to evade the subject completely.

But I've never written an article about No doubt, the idea has crossed my mind more than a few times, but without the sentimental magic of a melody to hide behind, I've always come face-to-face with the fact that I'm rather under-qualified, as soon as I open up a new Word document.

What could I possibly say that would offer an ounce of insight? Who do I think I am to consider that my observations, speculations, or (God-forbid) advice could actually be entertaining, let alone helpful to anyone? I don't know.

LOVE-Love with a capital 'L'. Love, in all its glory and mystery, Love in all its apparent unattainability and evasiveness. Good gracious.

I honestly don't even know. Other people have shared their opinions. There's no shortage of interpretations. They fill magazines, and blogs, and newspapers, and websites. They're highlighted in YouTube videos, documentaries, and Facebook statuses; the spectrum of voices never ceasing to include the most elated beside the most jaded.

Maybe the purest advice... the most simple testaments, are the ones we've probably heard repeated the most.

"Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

I'm sure that everyone reading this column, like me, has seen/read/heard this passage a million times. Possibly you've been bombarded with it when you least wanted to associate with it, or maybe you've been fortunate enough to have it attached to a beautiful memory.

For me, it's only today, as I rack my brain trying to write this article, that I notice that the first definition of love according to Corinthians 13:4 is patience.

"Love is patient." And maybe I'm revealing too much, but that statement kind of hits home right now.

Because I think that phrase means more than bearing the imperfections and procrastinations of a partner that's human. I think that maybe these three words were chosen to introduce the rest of the passage for the simple reason that Love... capital 'L' love... may not appear exactly when you want it to, or even remotely close to that point, unfortunately.

Love is not like garnering approval on Instagram, or finding a match on Tinder. Love is not like an international shipment with a purchased Express delivery.

It's anything but immediate.

And as hard as it is... as awfully hard as it is, you have to wait for it. You have to remove the desperation and confusion, the fear and insecurity and breathe.

You have to focus on the rest of your life, and decide with courage and acceptance that Love will pop up when you're ready and possibly when you least expect it.

But as I already told you... I really don't know anything about love.

Anna Toth is a local musician and a graduate of J.N. Burnett Secondary.