Haha…here’s a question for the day:  What makes you fall in love?  If you haven’t already encountered this question, or if you’re having trouble answering it right off the bat, rest assured that you’re not alone.  Kristle asked me this question last night, and I was stumped.  In the heat of the moment, I had answered her with some vague references to compassion and happiness, but the more I think about it, the more I’m stumped.  I don’t want to rule out the possibility of human beings having one particular quality that will guarantee that they fall in love, but I think it’s highly unlikely.  When someone falls in love, they begin to care on levels that they never knew existed.  No matter how many times one falls in love, each and every time feels different, as if they had never fallen in love before.  That’s the mysterious effect of love, and to say that it can be achieved by simply observing one specific characteristic of one’s partner is not only irresponsible, but without true depth to it.  I became extremely interested in this question when it was posed to me, and I decided that I’d make a blog out of it.  Here goes:

“What makes you fall in love, John?  I want to know…”  So would I, dammit; so would I.  If I had to make an assumption, my best guess would be the way that one person carries herself.  She has to be a woman first and foremost.  She must know how to handle herself as a lady in every situation, exuding maturity and well thought-out decisions and answers.  She must know when is an appropriate time to say some things, and when it is appropriate to say other things.  She must know what acts are appropriate and what acts are not.  She must know when to back down if she is wrong, and she must know when to stand up if she believes she is right.  She must know the difference between “dinner talk” and regular conversation, and she must confer respect when respect is due.  The most important part about it, however, would probably be that she must possess genuine humanity. 

When someone is humane, when someone is caring of other people, then it can be assumed that person is automatically a good person.  You can assume that one has a good heart solely based on how they treat others.  If one treats another with genuine hospitality and care, then is it possible for them to be evil people?  If it is genuine, mind you, is what I am getting at.  If it comes from the heart, then you know the heart must be of good nature.  When I see this in woman, I get weak in the knees.  I know of very little people who will go out of their way to help a friend who has a fever, or people who will stay in contact with long lost friends that have drifted apart along the way.  Things like this show that one is truly beautiful, and things like this also get me.  I’m a sucker for compassion, and for some reason or other, I can’t help but fall.

You see, I have been blessed from the Lord above to know of a few of these kinds of people.  Of particular importance would be three people I would like to take the time out to mention.  Joan Aguon, a soul among many who shines among the brightest.  This person has shown, time and time again, that it is the others that make her the happiest.  I have seen her go out of her way to make sure others are taken care of.  I have seen her put others’ interests before her own, and this makes her a beautiful person.  She knows how to show that she appreciates others, and she is deserving of nothing less.  Anna Stroud, an angel if I’ve ever seen one.  This woman epitomizes the “good Catholic,” with extreme love and kindness to all she comes in contact with.  Besides the fact that she’s extremely close to her church, her friends and family are what matter to her the most.  It is easy to see her out with many a friend, laughing with that unique laugh that only she has.  This is not just to get out, mind you; she is out with all of these different people in an effort to spread herself out and make the most with the time she spends with everyone.  She doesn’t exclude anyone from the party; on the contrary, because she’s such a beautiful person, the party comes to her.  And then there’s Kristle…

Kristle, Butterfly, Kris, 3, Bobat…whatever it is you want to call her, this woman has it all.  Among thousands and thousands of beautiful qualities, I believe the one that God Himself made sure she had was compassion.  If compassion was a book, Kristle would be the author.  This woman, in all honesty, knows how to take care of others.  From family to friends to foes, Kristle is one to show as much love as she possibly could.  Need an ear to listen to you, Kristle is there.  Need a shoulder to cry on, Kristle is there.  Need to hear a joke to brighten up your day, Kristle is there.  Need to see beauty in a world where evil and ugliness surrounds us all, Kristle is there.  It’s amazing how caring this woman can be at times, and admittedly, I sometimes do not believe how she does it.  How she puts up with the weight of the world while shouldering her own is unknown to me, and I’ll forever be in awe of her awesome capabilities.  When she smiles at you, somehow you know that everything will be all right.  Call it magic, call it divine grace, call it whatever you want.  The truth is, Kristle is a human being worth knowing.  If ever you should lose sight of what beauty truly is, minus all the commercialization and expectations that the world has placed on it, then look no further—Kristle is a butterfly among us caterpillars.

So what makes me fall in love?  As I have said before, there are just too many things, too many beautiful qualities that people may have, to identify just one thing.  But what I do know is that of these endless possibilities, compassion is what takes the cake.  Compassion, or the selfless love one gives to another, is what peaks my interest, and I am so happy to say that I have found someone who is as interesting as I’ll ever know.