I watched **The Choice** twice tonight. It was that kind of movie and story that inspires us in many ways we can watch it over and over again. > Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life’s most defining events. **The Choice** was based from Nicholas Sparks’ novel of the same name. The same author behind the popular film adaptations like _Message in a Bottle_ (1999), _A Walk to Remember_ (2002), _The Notebook_ (2004), _Nights in Rodanthe_ (2008), _Dear John_ (2010), _The Last Song_ (2010), _Safe Haven_ (2013), _The Best of Me_ (2014), and _The Longest Ride_ (2015) — which, if I may say, I watched all. _**Begin spoiler alert!**_ ## The Story It was an ordinary day for Travis Shaw (played by Benjamin Walker), a vet, when he first met Gabby Holland, a student of medicine, (played by Teresa Palmer of _Love and Honor_ (2013), _Warm Bodies_ (2013), _I Am Number Four_ (2011), _The Sorcerer’s Apprentice_ (2010)). They fell in love. However, Gabby already have a boyfriend and this complicated things between them. As no secret can remain hidden, Gabby had to make a choice to be honest about their relationship. However, she was deeply confused. Because of this, Travis walked away, one sightedness and pride clouded his judgement. Eventually, Gabby broke her engagement with her boyfriend and hoped Travis will come looking for her, disappointed as she was that he did not fight for their love. Later, the two were married and had two beautiful children when disaster stroke. One night, while Gabby was on her way home after Travis stood her up (because of work) for the second time in their dinner date, her car was hit hard by a pick-up truck. She was comatosed. Ninety days in her situation, Travis had to make a decision to pull her life support. He made a decision that since he was not ready to move on, he chose to keep her under life support. This was not a wasted decision, as after a strong storm hit their town, Gabby woke up. _**End spoiler alert.**_ ## The Choice In our daily lives, we all encounter moments when we have to make an important decision. Decisions where we have to choose only one path to take. A crossroad. In **The Choice** , Travis and Gabby made a choice that gave them a life that they truly want, a life of happiness and hope despite all the trials and tribulations that came their way. If Gabby did not let Travis flirt with her, they would never have a romantic relationship. If Gabby did not break her engagement with her boyfriend, they will never have the life that they truly dreamed of. If Travis made the choice to let his pride control him, he would never looked for her and ask her parents for their blessing to take her as his wife. If Travis gave up easily and pulled her life support, Gabby would never have a chance to wake up, and their two kids would grow up without their mother. These crossroads, these choices we have to make, this may be small and insignificant at that very moment but it can define our lives forever. A simple flirting game changed their lives for the better. Yes, Gabby already had a boyfriend and Travis knew it too. That was the thing, flirting was only that, a flirting game. They could have chosen to just let it be a flirting game, but they chose to take it to the next level. Love is life and life is love. It could be a romantic relationship or family relationships. But **The Choice** we always make and will make, no matter how insignificant and small it may be, will change our future forever. Be like Gabby. Be like Travis. They made **The Choice**. If you are looking for a partner and you know that you do want to have a romantic partner, then make a move. Make that choice. Love will never come for you, you should be looking for it. As I always say, _**The Choice**_. I give this film adaptation 9 out of 10 stars. Highly recommended. **The Choice (Nicholas Sparks 2016 Movie) – Official Teaser Trailer** _«The Choice» (2016) trailer_ The work shown above is Copyrighted to Lionsgate Movies. * * * ・ Cover image: The cover image used in this article is Copyrighted to Nicholas Sparks.

Remember when I said in this post that waiting for _butterflies in your stomach_ is not the way to know if you have found love? Love _may be_ _butterflies in the stomach_ after all. Partially. At least according to this research on how our body experiences emotion. In this study, a team provoked emotions from surprise to depression among 700 people. This enabled them to observe how we, humans, experiences emotion. For exampe, anger manifested itself in the chest, head, and fists. Which makes sense, right? When we are angry, we feel it in our chest. Then our head comes in with saddistic thoughts. Then we start flexing our fists, waiting for that emotion to come out. If we feel sad, we feel cold. Lonely. We lose appetite too. And through this research they discovered it is exactly how our body reacts to an emotion. Sadness in this case produces coldness in our arms and legs. Our stomach was void of anything. Our chest and head a faint reaction, no doubt because we are feeling pain or entertaining thoughts, the what-ifs. ## Emotion Map **Emotion Map** The work shown above is Copyrighted to Prevention.com. Look at depression! Our whole body turns cold, and our stomach and chest void of anything. Which, partly explains why depression can lead to suicide. But look at love! Most of our body, especially our chest, face, and that part below, are all fired up when we are in-loved. Definitely some butterflies there. > The emotions you feel–for example, fear–help prepare your body to avoid threatening people or situations, explains study coauthor Lauri Nummenmaa, PhD, of Finland’s Aalto University. Your emotions also help you feel at ease in socially rewarding settings. And just as your emotions help prepare your body for different scenarios, the way you feel physically can reinforce your emotional state, Nummenmaa says. What Sadness Really Feels Like > “We think that these maps are important because they further underline the strong link between mind and body,” Nummenmaa says. “Emotions are experienced as mental, but also as bodily states.” Now that we know that, we should be able to control ourselves better. If you are sad and you do not have an appetite, fight it. It is all because of your current emotional state. As we often hear, "it’s all in your mind". * * * ・ Cover image: The cover image used in this article is Copyrighted to Prevention.com.

Who can find a trustworthy man? A righteous man who walks in integrity? > 6 Many men claim to be men of unfailing love,but who can find a trustworthy man? > > 7 A righteous man walks in integrity.Blessed are his children after him. Mishlei (Proverbs) 20:6-7, Shem Qadosh Version * * * ・ Cover image: To the extent possible under law, I'M YourOnly.One has waived all copyright and related or neighbouring rights to On Unfailing Love and Men. This work is published from Philippines.

When it comes to poetry, King Solomon’s poems to his bride usually comes to mind. He wrote one of the greatest lines that can ever be said about one’s bride. Here is Song of Songs chapter 4, from the Shem Qadosh Version. > 1 Behold, you are beautiful, my darling.Behold, you are beautiful.Your eyes are doves behind your veil.Your hair is as a flock of goats, that descend from Mount Gilad. > > 2 Your teeth are like a newly shorn flock,which have come up from the washing,where every one of them has twins.None is missing among them. > > 3 Your lips are like scarlet thread.Your mouth is lovely.Your temples are like a piece of a pomegranate behind your veil. > > 4 Your neck is like David’s tower built for an armory,whereon a thousand shields hang,all the shields of the mighty men. > > 5 Your two breasts are like two fawns that are twins of a roe,which feed among the lilies. > > 6 Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away,I will go to the mountain of myrrh, to the hill of frankincense. > > 7 You are altogether beautiful, my darling.There is no blemish in you. > > 8 Come with me from Levanon, my brid, with me from Levanon.Look from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon,from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards. > > 9 You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride.You have ravished my heart with one of your eyes,with one chain of your neck. > > 10 How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride!How much better is your love than wine!The fragrance of your perfumes than all kinds of spices! > > 11 Your lips, my bride, drip like the honeycomb.Honey and milk are under your tongue.The smell of your garments is like the smell of Levanon. > > 12 A locked up garden is my sister, my bride;a locked up spring, a sealed fountain. > > 13 Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates,with precious fruits: henna with spikenard plants,14 spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,with every kind of incense tree; myrrh and aloes, with all the best spices,15 a fountain of gardens,a well of living waters, flowing streams from Lebanon. Shir Ha’Shirim (Song of Songs) 4:1-15, Shem Qadosh Version * * * ・ Cover image: A Love for the Arts by Delacorr by Infamous Hussy is free of known copyright restrictions.

What was the best marriage proposal of 2015? Proposing for 365 days! **The 365 Day Proposal** _Devotion and dedication! Lot of love went into making this proposal! Dean proposes to Jennifer at the beautiful Playa Linda Resort in Aruba on her birthday, January 8, 2015._ The work shown above is Copyrighted to Dean Smith.

What a romantic marriage proposal by Rendy. **Romantic & Surprise Marriage Proposal Rendy & Maggie** _With the help of my friends, I proposed to my longtime girlfriend in Pisa Cafe. Everything took 2 weeks of planning without her knowing. I thought of this original plan and had to do all the arts and crafts myself._ The work shown above is Copyrighted to stevens derahap.

These are the ultimate questions about love. Since we all became conscious about _love_ , we tried to define it so we can make a good decision in loving someone. It could be our brother, sister, mother, father, friends, strangers, or that special someone. We have heard and said that "love is blind", "love is only a chemical reaction found in our brain", or "love is but a fleeting emotion". Some will also say you will know when you are in love if you feel a “tingling sensation” or “butterflies in your stomach”. But are all these true? Some, maybe, but most are not. If we are relying on these definitions of love and tell-tale signs of being in love, the end result usually is hurting not just ourselves but the other party. So, allow me to tell you about love. > 💓 What is love? How do you define love? _When_ can you know you are in love? 💓 ## Love is blind… That is a lie. Think about it, if love is blind and one day we start to see, what are we going to find? How would we react to our discovery? Would we still love the person or will we call it quits and hurt the other party? When we believe that "love is blind" then there is a 50% chance we may not like the other party as soon as our love can see. Yes, they say that it is because despite the shortcomings of the other party, we still love them, hence, "love is blind". But that is the poorest explanation we can ever give to our love one(s). Is it not possible that we love them for who they are? Not because our love is blind but we acknowledge their shortcomings and know that it is what makes them lovable. Love is not blind. It is the lamest excuse we can give why we love a person. ## Love is only a chemical reaction… Yes, love is a chemical reaction but I do not believe that it is _only_ a brain activity. Science indeed found love and many other emotions showing up in our brains. The experts were even able to identify which part of our brain generates the emotions that we feel. Love, hatred, anger, compassion, name it. That is exactly what our brain is for and what it should do. However, love goes beyond being _only_ a chemical reaction in our brain. For love to even begin, we pull out from our life long experiences and set a guideline for ourselves on what and who to love. If it was _only_ a brain activity, then we would be no different from the animals who love for the sake of reproduction, of continuing the species. Are we animals? No. Our intelligence was not the only factor that separates us from them, it is our capability to define love for ourselves based on our experiences, and act on it, meaning, to choose who to love. In other words, there is no such thing as “love at first sight”, “tingling sensation”, or “butterflies in the stomach”. We love because our experiences and the things we were taught, defined love for us. When we see these characteristics in a person, we begin to analyze it. Later, some take action and expresses their decision by knowing each other deeper. This also means that waiting for the right guy/girl is a futile effort, a total waste of time. This brings us to the juice of this article… ## Love is a Choice and a Decision This is what love truly means. A choice **and** a decision. We can control love. We can choose who to love. We make a decision what to do about our love. This is the ultimate difference that we have with the animals. Our capacity to choose and make a decision, to act on it. The first moment we loved was when we first laid our eyes on our parents. Although most were not conscious of it yet, our brain made a decision for us. The result, we attached our whole existence to our parents. The same can be said to babies who were given away (for whatever reason). Their parent-child love is for their adopted and not biological parents. Hence why some are not happy to meet who their biological parents are, love never existed. They have to consciously make a decision and it is hard. **Love, Hearts, Valentine** Love, Hearts, Valentine by OpenClipartVentors is free of known copyright restrictions. Likewise in romantic love. Let us be honest. There are many beautiful, good, deserving, desirable, lovable, caring, sweet, romantic, ladies and gentlemen everywhere. At one time or another, we probably imagined ourselves dating them, even as friends (one-way love). Their shortcomings? It did not matter at all because we love them for who they are, not because our love is blind. Yet, nothing happened. It remained in the dream world. Why? Because we did not choose, we did not make a decision. We did not act on it when it was still a possibility (they were still single). We also dismissed it as “puppy love” or “crush” or “childish wish”, but was it? “Crush” itself was a choice and a decision. We made a choice that this person was only a _crush_. We decided that it was so and acted on it. The truth of the matter, we had a choice to pursue it. The reason we did not was either because we were looking down on ourselves or we were afraid of rejecting and pain. Think about our current relationships, husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, special someone, friends, did we not choose these people? Did we not made a decision to be associated and cultivate our relationship with these strangers? What we feel as _love_ is after we made a choice **and** a decision, not before that. We thought it was “love at first sight” because we did not understand love back then. We thought it was a “tingling sensation” because we felt giggles and burning in our cheeks. But all these were after the fact. Our brain made a choice and a decision, we simply were not aware of it. But now that we know better, we can make better choices and decisions too, especially in romantic love. Is it not sweet to hear that our special someone chose to love us despite all the handsome and beautiful gentlemen or ladies out there? Is it not endearing to whisper that “I made a decision to date you”? ## In closing The next question is, “Why me? What made you choose me? How did you come to your decision to love me?” The answer is simple, “Because you are who you are. I love _**YOU**_ , not my ‘ _imaginary boy/girl_ ’. I realized, my ‘ _perfect boy/girl_ ’ was not perfect at all because _**you**_ showed me what a perfect boy/girl is… _**YOU**_!” And if you have not found someone to this day yet you know deep inside that you do want to have a romantic relationship, then better approach love for what it truly is, you need to choose and you need to make a decision. Do not wait to feel “butterflies in the stomach” because trust me, you are headed on your _throne_ at home, not on someone’s heart. * * * ・ Cover image: Love Heart Made With Hands At Sunset by Ed Gregory is free of known copyright restrictions.

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