The Book of Love

I listen to a song, off and on, sung by Peter Gabriel. It's called "The Book of Love."  At this moment, I believe it is one of the truest songs ever written. Its inherent truth does not lie in that the song is about any one factual occurrence -- in actuality, Gabriel's song references no true specific event. Rather, the song is about the process of true love in action, and how living that process, though it is sometimes tedious, is more important than any one event along the way.

The Book of Love is long and boring. No one can lift the damn thing. It's full of charts, and facts and figures, and instructions for dancing. 

Great things happen along the way as we live out the process of true love. Sometimes we dance, whether it be metaphorically or in actuality. But true love is so much more than that. True love is about getting up with the kids and letting your spouse sleep in. It's about changing the litter box, even when you have no desire to do so. It's about driving miles and miles to visit the in-laws, or reading Dr. Seuss books when you would rather be watching Doctor Who re-runs. In short, the process of true love is actually a series of trade-offs, some of which benefit you, and some of which benefit your loved ones, but all of which advance the process of true love to the benefit of all.

There are more verses to the song, and perhaps I will write about those later on. In the meantime, enjoy one of the truest songs ever written.