"Love is not looking into each other's eyes; it is looking in the same direction"

-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This semesters for one of my electives for my grad program I am taking a class on Marriage & Family Counseling. So far my reading for it has been pretty basic and pretty obvious information. But the quote written above really stood out to me. The interpretation that the authors of my textbook give for that statement is that couples in healthy relationships share a bigger goal or mission in life beyond themselves. And I have to say that I completely agree. I realize that this is a pretty simple concept that is most likely ingrained in most peoples' heads. And some might read this and think "well duh Carolina." I'm not saying this is a new thought to me either.

Honestly though, I think that there our a lot of people that forget this in their relationships. Everything is so romanticized in movies and books. Relationships are made to look so easy. The movies make it seem like love is care-free and simple and based off the initial starry-eye feeling. They make it seem like love is just focusing on the other person. But really there is so much more!

I realize that I have no right to be discussing this topic because I am no expert in the area. I am only just beginning to learn what love is. But I have observed others who are truly in love and have noticed that the couples that appear to be the healthiest and strongest share a bigger goal in life. They share values and beliefs that are much bigger than they are, and they help each other work towards that goal. One isn't going one direction while the other moves another direction. I think that continually helping each other towards that bigger goal or mission in life shows more love for each other than any kiss or words of adoration could ever show. I only wish that more couples in the world thought that too.