"Most of us don’t think about the ridiculousness of what
we’re actually saying when we say, “I’ll love you forever,” or “I will
always remember this day,” or, “I’ll never forget you” or whatever.
Like, I say those things all the time, like most people do. But Hazel
and Augustus are both a lot more measured in the way they imagine
themselves and their love for/responsibilities to other people, hence
them adopting “okay” as the word that serves as an expression of their
love for each other." -John Green, talking about The Fault in Our Stars
One of the most difficult things about life is reconciling yourself to the fact that you will never be able to give anyone eternity, or perfect happiness. Like, when we fall in love (romantically or platonically), we want that person to be happy all the time, and we see ourselves as agents in making that the case. But as long as there is life, there will be sadness, and as long as there is life, it will be temporary. Our love, while powerful, cannot change that.
The trick is to co-exist with sadness, and give that person experiences which are happy to ensure that there is more than sadness in their lives. We can't remove sadness from anyone's life, but we can decrease sadness, and we can increase happiness. And if the object of our love has a particularly painful life, then we can help to make it liveable. We can help to make it okay.
And that's why telling someone "okay" is a beautiful way to express deeply felt and thought-out love for another person. And it's yet another reason why I love The Fault in Our Stars so much.
One of the most difficult things about life is reconciling yourself to the fact that you will never be able to give anyone eternity, or perfect happiness. Like, when we fall in love (romantically or platonically), we want that person to be happy all the time, and we see ourselves as agents in making that the case. But as long as there is life, there will be sadness, and as long as there is life, it will be temporary. Our love, while powerful, cannot change that.
The trick is to co-exist with sadness, and give that person experiences which are happy to ensure that there is more than sadness in their lives. We can't remove sadness from anyone's life, but we can decrease sadness, and we can increase happiness. And if the object of our love has a particularly painful life, then we can help to make it liveable. We can help to make it okay.
And that's why telling someone "okay" is a beautiful way to express deeply felt and thought-out love for another person. And it's yet another reason why I love The Fault in Our Stars so much.
