What makes love possible?

It may seem that Jerry Maguire is living the good life.  He’s a successful sports agent who has several clients, he’s surrounded by people that admire and envy him, and he’s engaged to a beautiful woman.  But his relationships with women seem to be lacking in the “I am in love with you” department.  What makes love possible in this new world disorder of work, work, work?  Or is this ideal love that some people aspire to have in their lives just another idea and not reality?

Since the invention of the conveyor belt and its ability for mass production, society took a turn for the better when it came to having several options to buy the things that would make their lives better, and in some cases, making individuals feel better about themselves.  The industrial era made it difficult for people to keep up with their social lives and personal relationships.  From working the graveyard shift to having a pile of bills, having a job became a necessity and a priority.  The primary goal was and still is to move up the social ladder, getting a raise, getting that promotion.  It’s people like Jerry Maguire who have had it all, who have become successful in their profession that they are failures when it comes to their personal lives.

It’s common for employees to put their jobs first so that their work basically becomes their primary and only relationship.   The significant other begins to take on the role of a cheerleader.  Even if both partners in the relationship are working and they become a support system for one another, I think most couples tend to put their jobs first and family second.  And usually, one person loves and shows that love more than the other person does

And in Jerry’s case love is just another word.  He was with his fiance because she was successful in her own right and if he did love her than he wouldn’t have broken off their engagement so easily.  Jerry doesn’t have a stable foundation of his own and so he needs to move onto the next woman to fill that void.  And maybe that’s the way some relationships have been forged, a party is able to provide one another with the minimum until something better comes along, like a company.   He needs others to forge that stability within his life since he’s unable to see that he’s expecting for everyone else to make a commitment to him, that they should demonstrate their loyalty without reciprocation.  Just like an employee, you are expected to meet these expectations in order to maintain your status of employment yet you are to expect very little in return.

For a relationship to work, for love to grow and thrive one needs more than just empty promises of servitude and loyalty, and more than just respect and a mutual desire to forge something worthwhile.  It’s more than the attention and devotion that a person can give you. It begins with yourself, who you are as an individual, where you stand in society that shows you’re happy with where you are in life.  Once you have that you should be able to show that devotion to someone else. And the love that forms, the bond that grows may just allow a couple to make it.