Why Love Brings Both Joy and Vulnerability
You can often feel sad when you’re in love. But why is that? When you care for someone deeply, you open yourself up, you become vulnerable. Love brings joy, connection, and meaning, but it also invites change. And as you grow older, it can come with a quiet sense of loss.
Morning Swim and Unexpected Reflections
I’ve been swimming with a woman who coordinates lessons at Poipu Beach in Kauai, hundreds of swimmers have learned from her. Today, as I talked with her, I was struck by her age, her optimism, and the fact that her former husband had passed. She joked about her own time coming soon, yet she radiated energy and presence. We used her floats and went out for a morning swim together. When I met the rest of her group, I realized, to my surprise, that I wasn’t the oldest one there. That alone amazed me.
Life in Motion, Even in Later Years
Despite their age, everyone was full of life. She led us through a warm-up on land before sending us into the ocean, which felt colder than usual. The waves were big and the swells strong, yet there we were, doing water aerobics in open water for nearly an hour. Afterward, she gathered us back on land for stretching and cooling down.
A Moment of Blessing and Connection
At the end of class, we all turned to face north, east, south, and west to bless the ocean. A man blew a conch shell in each direction, and afterward I spoke with him. He was in his eighties, happy, lively, overflowing with enthusiasm, with hobbies and passions that kept him young.
Recognizing Joy in Others
And I thought: Where am I? Who are these people?
I joked that it was a group practicing “doing nothing.” How wrong I was. They were living life, fully and openly, in paradise, with each other. They were connected, joyful, and present. What more do you need?
Love, Community, and the Sadness of Goodbye
The class was free, yet priceless. Later that evening, we even had dinner with two of them. And that dinner sparked this blog. I fell in love with these people, their spirit, their presence, their warmth, and I felt sadness knowing I would soon have to go home. Some of them might not be there the next time I return.
The Dual Nature of Love
Love and sadness, hand in hand. Opposites, yet inseparable in real life. What does that tell you?
When Kindness Deepens the Feeling
For me, it’s about friendship and age. Life keeps moving. People come and go. There is always turnover. Yet the heart feels loss only because it has known joy.
Acts of Kindness and the Echo of Love
Two of the people even came over later to help me with my website, hoping to use AI to generate images. It didn’t work, despite hours of trying. But the effort, their kindness, meant something. That is love: someone giving their time purely to help, without expecting anything in return.
The Beautiful Connection Between Love and Sadness
When the moments ended, even without success, there was a little sadness. Because that’s how love works. It fills you up, and when it changes or passes, you feel the echo of it.
Love and sadness often come together. They remind us we were alive for a moment, and connected.
