Here’s another analytical piece on the human condition. These sorts of pieces can get deep, but for some reason I really love writing them. There’s some science involved in this one too. There’s more to come. Hope you find it interesting and inspirational.

Love. It’s something everyone wants. But we don’t all get the love that we want. Love and life go hand in hand. Fate comes into it all too I guess. Although fate depends on what your perspectives are on how our lives are written. It depends on whether or not you believe that there is a higher power, a God who has planned out each and every one of our lives. Sometimes something like that is hard to believe, even for the most religious of us. There are some that believe everything happens for a reason, but many of us can find that difficult to believe. Love, Life, Fate, Faith, and Hope can all be brought together, with each one linked to the other.

We all have a life that we live. We all do different things in our lives. We all have our own experiences, ideas, perspectives, passions, feelings, thoughts, etc. Each one of us has a mind and a heart. Each one of us has our own hopes and dreams. We each hope for something in our lives. The mind and the body are inextricably linked. In essence, the mind controls the body. If you start thinking about something, and it makes you nervous, or even anxious, your body will likely respond and you’ll experience some different feelings. You may start to feel sick, your heart could start racing, you might even start shaking. All of this reaction is controlled by the mind. If you think about something that makes you happy, you might light up with a smile. Adversely, if you think about something that creates sadness, you might start to become emotional, and you could start to tear up and feel down. Certain chemicals do play a part in all this, namely hormones. Dopamine, oxytocin and cortisol are three such hormones that elicit certain emotions within the body. The mind has immense power over the body.

Love is ultimately the most powerful thing known to the universe. Love is something we all hope for. It’s something that can be so amazing, so beautiful. It can make you so happy. It can bring out the best in you. Some say love is like a drug. In some ways this is true. But it is much more than that. It’s something else. When someone is in love, dopamine and oxytocin are released, however not at standard levels. They are at much more elevated levels, which results in that person feeling something they’ve never felt before, immense happiness, elation, joy, all of it. The emotions they feel are much stronger than usual. And they can strengthen more over time. So in the event of love being ripped apart, someone experiencing these emotions can become torn up. This is more commonly referred to as heartbreak.

In the event of heartbreak, an individual can become inundated with pain. What occurs within the body is a change in hormones. The elevated levels of dopamine and oxytocin drop quickly and are replaced with cortisol, the stress hormone. Cortisol elicits the body’s fight or flight response, and because of the elevated levels of cortisol in the event of heartbreak, someone who was once so happy, even someone who has such a strong resolve, physically and mentally, can become weakened. The elevated levels of cortisol can result in a number of changes in the body. You could start to feel sick, become anxious, emotional, even depressed. You might even start to lose your appetite. In basic terms, you become broken. And even when you’re broken, you could still feel that love. It’s still there, and you can’t let it go, because it’s so real. Your mind is still controlling your body, however, your mind may be fractured, and thereby your body isn’t in as great a shape as it used to be. In essence, heartbreak can change a person. It’s something everyone hopes to avoid, but some can’t. You wouldn’t wish it upon anyone. Although, there are always two sides to every story.

Everyone has hopes and dreams. Some have faith to go along with this. They may be religious and pray to God for certain things in their lives. They might pray for these things for months, even years. And then, when the time finally comes, they get what they were hoping not to get. It is at moments such as these when faith is tested. Some may have such a strong faith that they trust in God no matter what. Even if they got the opposite of what they were hoping for, they still trust God. Others may not be able to do this as well. They might begin to question things. They might question their faith. They may begin to wonder whether God is there, listening to their prayers. Some people who believe in God will say that God has plans for all of us, that our lives are planned out by Him. When something doesn’t go the way we were hoping, these people might say that God is taking us in another direction. Some may accept that. Others may not want to go in that direction. When things don’t go the way we were hoping in our lives, it can be difficult to get through. It can become a time of questioning.

Some however may fight for their hopes and dreams. Even when things don’t go the way they were hoping, even if they prayed for it. They’ll still fight for it. Because they are not prepared to give up. They know it will be hard, and they might experience pain and suffering along the way, but they know that ultimately it will be worth it. They are willing to go through anything in their fight, because they know that they likely won’t be able to live knowing they didn’t fight for it. Times like these, when things go against you, can bring out a person’s true self, their raw being.

Some believe in fate. They believe that certain things are predetermined in people’s lives, and that no matter what you do, you can’t change it. Personally, I don’t believe this is true. I believe that everyone can change the course of their lives. If you fight for something, you could change the outcome. If you hold onto a feeling, and fight for it, things might change. If you have even a glimmer of hope, and you fight for it, it could spark and ignite into a fire of hope. Some things are worth fighting for.

Some people say that hope is a dangerous thing to have. They likely say this because sometimes hope could result in further pain and suffering. I personally disagree with this idea. Hope can be a good thing. Having hope can be all the difference in a person’s life. It can be the one thing that keeps them going. So while it may seem dangerous, while it may be dangerous, hope is essential. It gives us a bit of light in times of sheer darkness.

Ultimately all these things come together in a human being. Within our lives, we hope to find love. We may have faith and may believe that our lives are planned out by God, or we might believe they are scripted through fate. Or we may believe that we have control over our own lives. After all, everyone has free will. And free will cannot be controlled by anyone else. It is unique to the individual. It’s what gives us some control over our own lives.

Life and love are likely the most important parts of our humanity. Love makes our lives so much better. Everyone lives in the hope of finding love. Because having someone special in our lives can change us, it can make someone a better person. It can bring out the best in someone. Another person can do that. Another amazing human being. And sometimes you have to fight for that love. Because at the best of times it doesn’t come easily. You have to be prepared to fight for it. And sure it can be hard. It can tear you apart. It can almost destroy you. But that little glimmer of hope you have, that’s what can make the difference. That is ultimately what pushes you, what inspires you to keep on fighting. Because you know the love you feel can change your life. You never want to lose it. Because you know that if you lose it, you’ll lose so much more. And you don’t know how you’ll keep going if you do. Life, Love and Hope. The three most important parts of our humanity. Never lose them.