"I've found almost everything ever written about love to be true. Shakespeare said "Journeys end in lovers meeting." What an extraordinary thought. Personally, I have not experienced anything remotely close to that, but I am more than willing to believe Shakespeare had. I suppose I think about love more than anyone really should. I am constantly amazed by its sheer power to alter and define our lives. It was Shakespeare who also said "love is blind". Now that is something I know to be true. For some quite inexplicably, love fades; for others love is simply lost. But then of course love can also be found, even if just for the night. And then, there's another kind of love: the cruelest kind. The one that almost kills its victims. Its called unrequited love. Of that I am an expert. Most love stories are about people who fall in love with each other. But what about the rest of us? What about our stories, those of us who fall in love alone? We are the victims of the one sided affair. We are the cursed of the loved ones. We are the unloved ones, the walking wounded. The handicapped without the advantage of a great parking space! Yes, you are looking at one such individual. And I have willingly loved that man for over three miserable years! The absolute worst years of my life! The worst Christmas', the worst Birthday's, New Years Eve's brought in by tears and valium. These years that I have been in love have been the darkest days of my life. All because I've been cursed by being in love with a man who does not and will not love me back. Oh god, just the sight of him! Heart pounding! Throat thickening! Absolutely can't swallow! All the usual symptoms." Iris (Kate Winslet in "The Holiday") 

As I was preparing to face Jury Duty this morning, I spent several hilarious hours over the past week plotting how to get dismissed.  But, when I arrived to do my civic duty this morning, something remarkable happened:  I ran into two old friends.  Nothing had really ended either of these friendships, but maybe, time and distance. However, when Iris speaks of the most cruelest kind of love, it is not only reserved for lovers; but for friendships too.  The one sided friendship, can be cruelest when you are actually told that you were simply a "surface friend" over the past several years.  Not unlike a spouse saying after so many years, "I never loved you".  Although in your heart you were probably aware of the fact that it was always you doing the giving and forgiving. When you extend your heart to someone, you trust that it will not be stomped on and tossed to the side. The only reason that I am sharing this with my readers, is to say this:  life is short and we have no promise of a tomorrow, or a finish of today!  Forgive those that have hurt you, ask forgiveness of those that you have hurt and never stop loving for fear of getting hurt.  Because when you stop loving, you stop living and I would rather suffer the loss of a love or a friendship any day than to stop feeling and living this beautiful life that has been gifted to me. So, take a moment during this holiday season to express to your friends and family how much you love them and perhaps reach out to a stranger with a random act of kindness.