The monologue from the 2003 film Love Actually states the following:
“It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it’s not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it’s always there.”
A while back, this monologue was circulating on social media through videos capturing arguably the luckiest thing you can experience as a human being: love.Â
What was special about the videos was that they weren’t compilations of lavish romantic gestures. They were compilations of everyday interactions between loved ones, partners, friends and strangers: fleeting moments repeatedly failed to be noticed as expressions of love.
The biggest misconception about love is that it must possess definite characteristics: a phenomenon shared between two lovers, expressed through gifts or the spoken word, marked by x’s and o’s. But in actuality, love has no set standards. It’s something that manifests itself in everything around us and is often left unseen.
To see love, then, is to pay mind to the little things. After all, they say you don’t notice something until you start looking for it.Â
Love is the interactions between strangers. It’s the apologies in tight spaces, the lend of a hand on long crosswalks, the exchange of cheerful eyes amidst a large crowd.
Love is the quick catch-ups and long conversations. It’s the mini reunions in hallways and the inside jokes you never thought you’d hear again.
Love is all the forms that relationships take. It’s the parents, the partners, the distant family, the friends.
Love is the “hello’s,” “how are you”s, and the words that fall in between. It’s the waving of hands, the accompanying smiles, and the making of next plans through yells across the street.
But most importantly, love is what makes our existence worthwhile. It’s the thing that reminds us of our place in this world: the incomparable thing that gives life its meaning.
My hope is that you’ll use my words as a reminder to take a closer look at it all. I’m sure that if you do, you’ll find that love actually is all around.