The Dangerous Comfort of Staying With Someone Who No Longer Adores You

I post the song "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" at least once a year on social media because I believe its message that strongly. If you've never heard it, take four minutes and listen before reading further.

Not because relationships are supposed to remain exactly the same forever.

Not because butterflies are meant to last for decades.

But because I believe some things should remain.

The feeling that your partner still adores you.

The feeling that they still light up when you walk into the room.

The feeling that they still see something remarkable in you.

The feeling that they still feel lucky you chose them.

Not every day.

Not every moment.

But often enough that neither of you forget.

One of the saddest realities of adulthood is how many people slowly lose those things and convince themselves it doesn't matter.

The danger is that it rarely feels like settling.

It feels like stability.

It feels like history.

It feels like being realistic.

Years pass.

Lives become intertwined.

And before long, the question is no longer, "Do I feel deeply loved?"

The question becomes, "Is this good enough?"

That is a dangerous question.

Because "good enough" has a way of s

ealing entire decades.

Life is too short for lukewarm love.

Too short to spend your years with someone who merely tolerates your presence when you could be with someone who genuinely cherishes it.

That is why I continue to post this song.

Because beneath the beautiful melody is a simple truth:

The luckiest people in the world are not those who simply find someone to stay with.

They are those who find someone who never stops feeling fortunate they did.