Sanctity vs. Sanctuary

These words aren't mine but, let the voice of my poetess-friend echo the stirrings of my soul:

"Someone who has experienced a life-altering love, whether the outcome is tragic or otherwise would never violate its sanctity by settling for something less.

If love were so convenient and logical, its value would deteriorate. But some people burn at the stake for love, tear their families apart, build monuments, write entire symphonies and novels, starve to death, forego temptations and transitory desires and all because they have come to know it on a higher level. I have heard about couples who wander aimlessly apart for years only to be reunited after discovering that neither of them has settled for someone else. I have also heard about odd pairings between deaf, blind, mute, crippled and paraplegic lovers--none of which make sense if the goal is merely great sex.

Ultimately love is not about safety, comfort, and shelter or convenience.

Love is truth: the kind that gets shot in a firing squad...The kind that braves the streets on a dark night or journeys through waterless deserts. It is not merely the kind of love found between the sheets or solid four walls but the kind that waits outside, under the rain or the scorching heat. It braves boredom, restlessness and ritual. It often mocks the status quo and no amount of clichés will explain it away.

Love is sacred. It accepts no substitutes for its truth is more haunting than dead words. And because it is sacred it requires sacrifice.

Love waits patiently on eerie shores when the tides are cruel and everyone else is safe, for the heart cannot be taught to love another. For the heart cannot settle for something less."