If a lie is repeated 10 times it starts replacing the truth. There are certain universal lies that are passed on from one decade to another under the disguise of words so sonorous that refuting them would feel like challenging the very foundation of humanity.
As per one such ideology which finds favour among many would be “love is unconditional” that I have heard umpteenth times since my school days. It irked me very much since the very first time I came in contact with the emotion myself and started understanding the complexities attached better. If love is unconditional why do we face so much dilemmas and complications in our personal relationships? Why is it so difficult for us to convince ourselves about closing the deal on anyone around us?
The very foundation of love is based on selfish reasons. As we set out to choose the best possible companion for ourselves it becomes a competition of sorts where our sole aim is to find a compatible partner who is as accomplished as us if not more.
Love draws the longest list of qualities that the prospective lover should fulfill. There is always something lacking, something missing, certain unfulfilled qualities that would have otherwise made the prospect complete. Sometimes the height is too short or the grammar is flawed or his only talents are watching movies and listening to music or her bunny teeth show when she smiles or the all evasive “I don’t know what it is….but there is something missing.”
If it was unconditional after all then people would have been filling up their senses completely with this emotion ignoring the practical and aesthetic aspects. The only noble love relationship that exists is probably between parents and children and that too from parents towards children.
But there are exceptions to this rule. Love is self-centred but at times it does reach a point where it tends to become selfless. Initially it does absorb the exterior beauty, demeanor and the rest. But after you have shared the highs and the lows, the joys and the sorrows, the heart and the soul (I know cheesy but bear with me please. It rhymed.). Your affections are placed with them because they believed in you when no one else did, they held your hand when no one else did and they understand you like no one else does.
It still carries conditions though. If love and trust are not reciprocated with the same it is a river which tends to run dry very often. This emotion makes the expectations go up and in turn the disappointments go up too. A relationship can become as devoid of emotions as brimming with feelings it was earlier. Once again, proving that it has its own limitations.
Love is giving and kind but not so much that it would say “I surrender my happiness to you.”
Love is selfish and shallow but not so much that it would say “I will love you until you get fat.”
Articulated Scribbles 
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