subject: A Valentine's Day Reflection [print this page] Love... quite possibly the most effective word in any language. This tiny one syllable word has resulted in battle, treachery, and insanity, but it has also caused harmony, unpredicted adventures, and unmatched creativity. How is it that something that should be so great can direct us to such evil? The French, famous for love, have many remarkable love stories to share. For example, the story of the sculptor Rodin and his apprentice Camille Claudel. Claudel worked for Rodin when they fell for each other. His refusal to leave behind his wife for her made Claudel insane and she smashed many of her pieces of art during episodes of paranoia which was a result of her schizophrenia. Claudel spent the last 30 years of her life in a home for the insane. How can a force that can drive a person to such depths of misery be the one thing that we all seek in this life? Alternatively, let us take a look another french couple. Voltaire and Emilie du Chatelet had a 15 year long romance which was scorned by the public, yet accepted by Chatelet's husband, the Marquis Florent-Claude du Chatelet. Chatelet and Voltaire shared a healthy intellectual bond and spent time philosophizing together, accumulating books for the library, and providing suggestions on each other's findings in mathematics and science. Their shared values and loyalty to each other fueled their love even after her death. Upon her death, Voltaire wrote of Chatelet, "It is not a mistress I have lost but half of myself, a soul for which my soul seems to have been made." Despite her arranged marriage to the Marquis, the relationship between Chatelet and Voltaire was endured and not envied. They were the focus of ridicule but were permitted to spend their lives together in shared respect. Their story illustrates love in its finest form. In my point of view, love is the only thing worth living for. Whether it's love of kin, love of something, or love for a spouse, an absence of love life is empty. Maybe that is why love can force us to such extremes. For many, love is worth dying for. For many, it is worth living for. As Valentine's Day gets closer love is on everyone's minds. I wish you all a cheerful love story overflowing with all the best love may bring and none of the worst. This Valentine's Day, express your love with a db:01: from Baskets By Rita.db:02: We all need a small reminder occasionally of just how much we are loved.
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