My roommates and I were watching Moulin Rouge the other night. (It's one of my favorite movies and it's absolutely amazing, so if you haven't seen it yet, start doing so
now!) In the movie, there's one very important quote:
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."
Well, we got into a sort of debate regarding this particular quote. I agree with this quote completely, but they didn't really. Love is important, they said, but there are greater things that one can experience. Success, friendship, and for my more religious roommate, divinity (for lack of a better word). Basically... the ideals of the movie are wonderful, but they are just ideals, and in reality there are more important things to focus on.
As I said, I disagree with that. Obviously, I think it's important to be successful and healthy and beautiful and kind and intelligent and to have friends (and so on), and while I don't believe in any sort of higher power, I suppose I can at least add that morality is a great thing to learn.
But love is the
greatest thing.
I know that personally, if I had to choose between being miserable in every other aspect of my life, but retaining the ability to love and be loved, or losing that ability and retaining greatness in all those other aspects... I'd choose the love.
Maybe that's not very practical, but my view on life is that it's not meant to be practical. It's meant to be happy. I suppose it's all a matter of opinion in the end, since I'm sure that some people out there are very happy without having love. But I can't be. Knowing what I do about love, and imagining what it would be like not being able to love or to feel love... that seems awful to me. I wouldn't be happy with a life like that.
So yeah. I do think that the greatest thing one can learn is just to love and be loved in return.
What about you?
True 
Comments (35)
I agree with you. I'm an emotional person and love motivates many of my decisions, so I can't imagine a life without love. Being loved is a wonderful feeling. But I'm sure not everyone will agree that it's the greatest thing you'll ever learn.
as humans, we can not survive without love and companionship, but we can survive without success and money. by love i'm talking about any sort of love, you will not have frienship without love. love is something that touches every person at some point of their life, it has the ability to change. i agree with the statement, that learning to love and be loved is the greatest thing, it can also be the hardest thing to love someone unconditionally, or to receive unconditional love.
I agree! Nice post :)
Yeah, I pretty much despised every moment of that movie.
I do agree with this post though. Love is essential in everything: Religion, friendships, relationships, work, etc.
I agree ;D
I agree.
fucking love that movie,
and totally agree. :)
I agree, nice post BRAVO
Moulin Rouge *_*
I JUST watched this movie the other day. I totally agree with you. I would give up everything just to know love. I'm lucky enough to know love and I will never give it up.
Hmmmm, I don't think so.
Although love is one of the best lessons I have learned in life, I cannot help but say that it is the greatest lesson.
If I had to choose the best lesson, it is to find out your passion.
You can live without loving and without being loved, but your passions will get you anywhere you want to be. The underlying emotion for love is passion. Passion to love that person, passion to teach, passion to build cities, passion to play basketball, even (sometimes unfortunately so) passion to simply make money.
Love is one of the greatest lessons and everyone could live a nice life because of it. But the greatest lesson is passion. Passion gets you through life, independently, whether you do find a love or not. Passion gives you purpose, Passion may leave you a legacy, and Passion is the true nature of living of life to the fullest.
Relationship with God is the greatest love a person can know. People somehow have this twisted concept that it's about following some set of rules, but it's not about that.
Sure, it's a great thing. Until it fails, and you're left miserable anyway.
Honestly, after being so madly in love for so long, and watching things crumble the way that they did....I'd rather that I didn't experience it at all. I know that I won't let myself again.@Unfettered_Mind@xanga - i agree 100%
I'd have to agree with you. whether it's love from a friends, family, pets, S/Os. Love is the hardest emotion in the world, to understand learn feel. There is so much depth to it that i really do think it's something everyone needs to experience. Even if it doesn't have a happy ending, being able experience it, at all, is beautiful.
I think Love is great. And I am in it, so I can say that from experience. But no matter how much I love my boyfriend, if I didn't have friendship, success, hopes, dreams, my health and security (emotionally, physically, financially) it wouldn't mean very much. I think learning to love and learning how to control and manage that love is a great thing, but being in it would mean squat to me if I didn't have other things besides.
Love gives me craaaazy mood swings.
I...think.. love is the greatest level of affection one can achieve, I think what your friend was trying to say is that other things such as success, friendship, and health may not be as important as love individually but combined may out balance what is more important.
Example...
Going to movies with your spouse, but then your boss called saying you have to go to work on the day of the movie! Surely your spouse would be disappointed but would encourage you to go to work.
In this case the amount of love loss was less than the amount of success gained thus tips the scale to persuade which action you will take.
If however you had to choose between your spouse leaving you and going to work, several circumstances have to be considered.
Repercussions of your work, how much do you like your work, which could you not live without? Surely love counts for more but when another factor that matters less in quality but has alot more quantity it will persuade your action.
spanish if someone would teach me lmao
Great post. I loved Moulin Rouge and now in the mood to watch it hehe. Anyway yehh I would say love is the greatest feeling in the world, loving someone and getting that love returned. It's great even though there are things in the world that feel good too you just can't beat the feeling of love. Love comes from different things not just one significant other, but with family and friends too.
I absolutely love that movie! I have a poster of that exact picture on my wall right now, haha. Anywho, I could agree that it's a big part of life, and I think The Beatles would agree with you, too. After all, they say that "all you need is love" as well...
@StargazingSuzie@xanga - Haha, I'm starting to get in the mood to watch it as well, lol.
the 1952 version is a lot better
love, love, love x3
Why don't we just allow this to be a personal thing for each person, right? For someone even "having money" might be the greatest thing you ever learn...whatever....I agree with your religious friend...divinity and enlightenment might be the greatest thing.....or it could be love or love can be intertwined with divinity and spirituality.