A few hours ago, I found this clipped on the car’s windshield as I went down the basement parking to get something I forgot.  It was addressed using only my nickname.  Just before I end my long work day today, I am posting this here for everyone to see.

“Mark,

There will always be that one person who, no matter what happens between you two, will constantly be your source of strength, solace, inspiration, delight, warmth, and affection.  That person will mean the world to you in more ways than one despite going through whatever difficulties and challenges with or against each other because you know full well that it is, was, or will be worth it.  You will do anything and risk losing everything for this person.  Meeting other people is a certainty, but they will never, ever measure up to that person in terms of how everything just falls into place and how inexplicably happy you are whenever you are together.  You see beauty in a flawed being; you’re willing to say ‘the hell with it’ when everyone else says, ‘get up and leave.;’ you would do things you never thought you could just for this person; and there is always something to remind you about this person in the simplest of things.  Is this a soul mate?  Probably.  Can it be one-sided?  More often than not.  It will not actually matter to you if that person would feel the same way you do; what does though, is what you’re willing to give.  They say love is ‘putting the happiness of the other person above yours.’  It couldn’t be any more truer.

I may not truly believe in soul mates; but what I do know deep down, is that once you meet that person, your life will never be the same again.  Everything changes.  Your future is now planned on either spending the rest of your lives together or just being alone because like I said, that person is absolutely irreplaceable.  You will see things very differently and for the first time in your life, you will realize where your life is headed and how clear it is.  If you don’t feel all of these with the person you are with right now, then chances are you haven’t found that person yet.  You don’t force this on someone and vice versa, it just comes naturally; sometimes you don’t even have to do anything.  It’s with the right person, the right circumstances, the right timing.  Most people go through life in constant search of that one person.  Some get lost, some end up with someone who think it’s good enough, but there is still that void that needs to be filled.  The lucky ones though, will tell you that it wasn’t easy.  Like all things, it needs work.  Lots and lots of it.  Finding that person who brings you that completeness feeling is one thing.  Doing your part in making sure it stays there is completely different.  But again, whether you end up together or not, that person’s impact on you will be seared into your heart until the day you die.

Looking at you and hearing everything you’ve been through, I certainly know you have found that person.  I don’t feel sorry for you for what happened; on the contrary, I can never be more proud of you.  You did what you’re supposed to do and much, much more.  It doesn’t matter what your friends say or feel about that person, what matters is what YOU feel inside.  Your friends don’t run your life, nor do they have your brain, much more your heart.  I’m sure they mean well, but if they really do, they would have stuck and supported you with what and how you feel no matter what.  I’m also not saying in any way that that person you love or how you were treated was right, or that you deserve all that pain and hurt, but what matters is how you never faltered when everything was going against you.  You kept the faith.  Most people would’ve done the practical thing and just left.  But you stayed true, gave it your all, and more.  I never saw anyone with as much love in a person’s heart as much as yours.  Things may have ended between you two, but I’ll say this:  ‘never let go.’   Never be swayed by practicality or the need to be in a relationship with someone different because other people tell you that you should be, but have that flame burn in your heart continuously for that person.  The world needs more people like you.  Like us.  We are a dying breed in a cynical world where romanticism, chivalry, and love–the kind of love that most say happen only in movies and not in real life–is taken for granted.  Live your life how you see fit, but never let go.  The moment you do, that’s when everything you did for that person is wasted, and done in vain.  Stay true to that feeling.  Again, it doesn’t matter whether you end up together or not, but how you keep that kind of love inside you for no one other than that person.  Thank you for showing the world what real love is.  Be proud of what you did.

Never let go.”

There was no indication who was it from.  But whoever you are, thank you.  It’s a nice feeling that someone out there knows–and agrees–with what I feel.  I will take your kind words to heart.  Thank you.