What Do You Think?

Love seeketh not itself to please,

Not for itself hath any care,

But for another gives its ease,

And builds a heaven in hell's despair.

Love seeketh only self to please,

To bind another to its delight,

Joys in another's loss of ease,

And builds a hell in heaven's despise.

—W. Blake: Songs of Experience

I read this in the book Middlemarch, and couldn't help but think of a comment one of my friends made back in December when we were listening to "All I Want For Christmas Is You." He said, "Love is so selfish. That's really what it is. Don't let anyone tell you differently."

I didn't know exactly what I thought of that. I still don't. I fear that all I do is take from the ones that I love. That I unintentionally hurt them by my actions, thoughts, and words. It seems to me that it is always the case that one person benefits more from love than another, or at least in different ways.

My friend Nathan has an exact opposite view of love. He told me about this song the other day, and it's stuck with me.

Love is something if you give it away, 

Give it away, give it away.

Love is something if you give it away,

You end up having more.

It's just like a magic penny,

Hold it tight and you won't have any.

Lend it, spend it, and you'll have so many

They'll roll all over the floor.

For love is something if you give it away,

Give it away, give it away.

Love is something if you give it away,

You end up having more.

—Malvina Reynolds "Magic Penny"

Does loving fully fall somewhere in the middle, do you think? I'm an idealist at heart, outwardly a cynic. So I think I would really like to believe love falls somewhere in the middle for everyone, for every kind of love.

Just musing, and wondering what you wonderful people think.