unaware of the world around

They were kissing with the intensity of those who belong to each other, unaware of the world around them.

Every once in awhile, when I am reading a book, a sentence or phrase will strike me and I will find myself thinking about it for days afterwards. Such was the case with this quote from The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

The book is a great one, but it is far from a romantic novel, so perhaps that is why this sentence stood out to me even more. I would fill you in on the context of this sentence, but truly it isn’t important for the sake of this post. If you want to know the story, read the book. You’ll be glad you did.

I haven’t been able to get this sentence out of my mind, so I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means. To me, there is so much depth in those words. In the book, they were the only words used to describe the scene that was taking place, and they were the only words that were needed, because you know, with those words, everything that you need to know—that the two people were deeply in love, but not only that. In addition to being in love, they weren’t distracted from their love. They were focused on it. That is what captured me.

I’ve realized in my life that I’m often distracted from love. In my heart, I am a romantic. I love romance. But in my life, I often find that I don’t live out the romance that is in my heart because I am distracted by practicality. Romance and love are a concept of our souls and regardless of our relationship status, they are vital to each one of us. They are the freedom that we have to live life with passion and adventure, letting the joy of life and the relationships that we have fill us to overwhelming. 

But then why am I so distracted by what needs to be done that I so often fail to “kiss with the intensity of those who belong to each other, unaware of the world around them.” --Or to do anything with abandon, for that matter. 

I didn’t used to be this way. But the responsibilities of life have seemed to overtake the place of love and romance in my life. 

It's funny how something so small reminded me of who I want to be and how I want to live.