Love Affairs

I recently read the astute comment that we ("we" being society I suppose) are too quick to judge a love affair as "a success" only if it lasts for the proverbial "until death do us part" and as "a failure" if it lasts only for a short time. The point was that a love affair -- or relationship or whatever you want to term it -- can be deemed successful if you enjoyed the time you spent in it, or learned something, or became stronger, or whatever. A love that ended is not by default a failure. This resonated with me. Perhaps because I haven't found the one great love to last until death. Perhaps because I have had a number of relationships that while short by the classic definition, have in part helped shape who I am today. Because of my experiences, I am stronger, perhaps more sympathetic to the many plots of life, and less likely to settle just to please the "we." I would of course love to find that someone; who wouldn't? But until then, I'm grateful for my short-term love affairs.