Touched by little things.
(Baonghean.vn) - True love isn't based on grand, significant things; on the contrary, love is multiplied and sustained silently by countless small things, so small that we often overlook them, taking them for granted.
Yesterday I read a status on a youth forum: What was the first gift you received from your boyfriend/girlfriend? My boyfriend/girlfriend is now my husband. Every time I think back to the first gift he gave me, I find it both funny and heartwarming.
People usually give each other cosmetics, jewelry, dresses, etc. when they're courting someone, but my husband's first gift was five ears of corn! Five boiled ears of corn, steaming hot and fragrant, given to me at 9 PM, simply because I had casually mentioned I was suddenly hungry during a text message. Only later did I learn that he had to run all over the streets to find a stall selling corn late at night, then begged them to stay and boil another batch after they were already packing up. I've never told him that his funnyly honest act of giving me those ears of corn strengthened my belief in choosing him as my husband.
My female friends and sisters often confide in me about their love lives, casually mentioning a few criteria for choosing a life partner. When a woman chooses a man to be her lifelong companion and support, besides feelings, she considers many other criteria: education, finances, career, family background… There’s nothing wrong with that. After all, even buying a shirt or pants requires browsing through many stores, trying them on, examining them carefully, and putting them down repeatedly – let alone choosing… a husband!
But nowadays, women seem to be more practical than before. Many I know "judge" their boyfriends based on expensive gifts: designer bags, high-end phones, diamond jewelry, fashionable clothes, imported roses, romantic candlelit dinners at Western restaurants… Everyone likes these beautiful things, but are they a measure of a man's sincerity? Are they "plus points" to consider when assessing the potential for a long-term relationship?
I think true love isn't based on grand, significant things; on the contrary, love is multiplied and sustained silently by countless small things, so small that we often overlook them, taking them for granted. Love is when you wash the dishes and I pick the vegetables. Love is a bowl of porridge, a pill when you're sick and tired. Love is enduring each other's sadness, irritability, grumpiness, and flaws. Love is respect, sharing, forgiveness, shouldering burdens, and supporting each other.
When we live in simplicity, we often forget its value, constantly yearning and comparing ourselves to the glittering, ostentatious lives of others. Only when we lose it do we realize with shock and regret how much hardship, sacrifice, and effort that person must have endured to provide us with that simplicity. Ultimately, fireworks only shine brightly for a fleeting moment before fading away, leaving behind only the warm, small, simple embers of a brazier, which helps us get through the cold of the long night.
