There are many things to fear about being in love. If you let your heart rush out to soon, the rejection of someone more thoughtful and prudent than you can be deeply painful. Or its ending can be emotionally disastrous. “Hell, hath no wrath like a woman scorned,” is not just a bromide but a profound truth, as painful for one party as the other - or both. (I’ve experienced both the wrath and the scorned firsthand.) Perhaps even worse are those poor souls who give their lives to another only to find their relationship boring and lonely.
But worst of all must be never finding love - to live alone, always, with no one to share life’s little joys and sorrows, much less the delight in solving shared problems. I don’t doubt that monks may lead a fulfilling life in their devotion to God, as they are not truly alone; they have a spiritual love. But for the rest of us, the greatest failure is in living without love because we feared to reach out our open palm and accept it.
