I was thinking about the Netflix series “The Good Place” earlier today and wondering if we in fact are stuck in The Bad Place. Exhibit 1: Love. We invariably classify it as one of the good emotions to feel, perhaps the supreme emotion among the good ones. Yet, this beautiful emotion is the one that causes the most harm. We’re all hurt at one point or another by someone we love, or we’re hurt by their loss. The clearest example for me at the moment is the loss of my father. The love I have for my father made his passing excruciatingly painful. How can something so beautiful cause so much pain? It’s as if you’re between a thick concrete wall and a giant pendulum. It’s weight swings away from you the more you love, but it will one day swing back toward you and you’ll be tied to that wall. The more you love the higher the pendulum will be pulled back and the harder it will crush you.

However, even after knowing how much it hurts, how much torture it is…I still choose love.