Is Love Enough?

 

“And they all lived happily ever after! The End!” 

Wait… Hold Up… What after that?

We’ve all heard a lot of love stories ending in happily ever afters, and even love stories ending in tragedies. Love stories that end in tragedies, well they usually become a lesson to learn from or they become famous examples people use to justify and define what “Love” actually is.

But talking about love stories that end in Happily-ever-afters, well, they don’t really end. Or do they? We all know about the frog turning into the handsome prince, or the beast turning into the handsome prince, or the princess coming back to life or waking up from her sleep or the classic glass shoe fits. What we don’t know is what happens after. Yes, they have a grand wedding with a grand reception and a classic happy ending. But what happens after that??

Do they make that perfect couple? Because I’ve heard that nobody is perfect and no, destiny doesn’t always work. Do they fight? Because I know that at some point every couple has arguments if not fights, some of which are because of petty reasons and some even lead to separation (ugh! Humans I tell you!). What if in the future they realise that they’re not the “one” for each other? What do they do then? Well, this raises the bigger question, “Is ‘Love’ enough for any relationship to work?”

You know it's funny how as kids we used to believe everything that Disney showed us. But have you ever wondered why our parents didn’t? Because it was pure fantasy. We had no idea about the harsh realities of life, they did. We didn’t know that it was scientifically impossible for a frog to turn into a human, they did. They knew it all along that all of it was fiction. It was for us to find out that it was all a fantasy man! I always believed that my prince would come and take me with him. (I know! So dumb!)

Well, years passed, I grew up and now I know, not everything is true after all. Either that or it's too good to be true. And now that we all know the truth, I want to ask if what we’re shown that love is all you need, is that even sensible. I mean yes, maybe, but on the bigger picture, love is not enough. Nobody talks about what happened in that “after”. Were they able to adjust, given that the female protagonist of the story was usually from a lower class? What about compromises? And what about the understanding? In the case of Jasmine and Aladdin, did the “male ego” play any role? And what about the emotional, and mental support?

That’s why I really appreciate the new and improved “Cinderella” starring Camila Cabello. Yes, there was a slight change in the original storyline in this movie, but I called it “new and improved” because they took up the topic of Women's Empowerment and projected it in the movie. The movie taught me that it's a good thing to dream and take chances to be that ‘One in a Million'. How the Prince of the story compromises for her, how they decide to give the Throne to the Princess, and how they decide to travel. I think that’s how it should be sometimes. (I'm not being paid to promote the movie here!)

I feel that deep down we all know that love along with understanding, trust, compromises and several other things make a relationship work. Yes, it may not always be 50–50. It can sometimes be 70–30 or 40–60, but you don’t complain. You shut up and make it work! And don’t you fantasize about your lives the way these stories are! Sometimes you don’t get that ‘happy ending’, and I think that’s alright. Maybe they weren’t the one for you. That’s when the world becomes your Oyster honey!! All you need to do is take Life as it Comes and enjoy every bit of it!!!

Ps. I find Romeo and Juliet to be dumb on various levels due to various reasons (no hard feelings). So, try not to depend on it okay?