Love, Idealism, and Aging

"We have this ideal of what love is and then these very, very unhelpful narratives of love. Couples and relationship therapy helps us examine and rework these narratives. They are everywhere—in movies and songs. And we mustn’t blame songs and movies too much. But if you say to people, ‘Love is a painful, poignant, touching attempt by two flawed individuals to try and meet each other’s needs in situations of uncertainty about who they are and who the other person is, but we’re going to do our best,’ that’s a much more generous starting point."
-- Alain de Botton

Young Love vs. Mature Love

"We are strangely obsessed by the run-up to love. What we call a love story is often just the beginning of a love story, and we leave the rest out. But most of us are interested in long-term relationships. We’re not just interested in the moment that gets us into love; we’re interested in the survival of love over time."
-- Alain de Botton