Holy father…
- Yes, my son.
- Let me ask you one question.
- Ask without hiding, boy. If it is within my power, I will answer.
- What is love, father?
- What?!
- Love, holy father. I asked about love.
- But doesn’t the Superior tell you every day about love – for our Lord, Jesus?...
- He says, father. But I want to know about another love...
- Your thoughts are sinful, my son! There is no other love. And anyway... where do you get such questions, and even within these walls?
- I thought, Holy Father. Juices of life. Nature. Creatures of heaven and earth... man and woman...
- All this is fornication... Animals and birds are not driven by love.
- And the man?!
- Well, where did you come at me like that!... And your question... where did it come from?
- Here, in the monastery, in the library, there are several books in foreign languages...
- Learned to read and write and speak different languages?!
- Yes, father. And in those books the lines are foldable, light, beautiful!
- These are poems, son. And what are these lines about?
- I mean, it’s about a woman, about love...
- Did you understand any of these lines?
- No, father, but it’s beautifully written!
“I told the Superior,” the confessor thought, sighing, “that it’s not a good idea to keep something like that in a monastery. And he’s all about enlightened Europe... We’ve finished the game, Lord!”
- These lines are not a godly deed. Forget about them, my son!
- But why, holy father, is it written!...
- Oh, it’s written... - the priest grinned into his beard. - You see, son... well, how can I explain it to you... This essence of love is the monster Leviathan, which the Lord chained in the cage of our mind...
- A monster?!... Why are such beauties written in those words, why is the world in them lighter and brighter than ours?!
- These are the ravings of demoniacs, whom the Lord has deprived of the strength of reason.
- And if the monster breaks out, what then?
- Do not tempt the Evil One, my son!
- What about children?…
- The fruit of sin.
- But what about... Mother of God?!...
- Don't blaspheme, boy!
- But all this is called in one word - love!
“The persistent youth,” the confessor smiled again, “will not give up so easily.”
- Do you know that your speeches are seditious, my son?
- I know, father, but...
- That’s it!... And, let me ask, what do you understand about this very love?
- I believe, Holy Father, that all love is from God and for his glory.
- You were brave, however, in your speeches with the confessor.
- So how else can you find the truth?!
- What a restless boy you are... I heard, it’s true, that I’ve been girdling myself with a rope for a long time. I also knew human love, sinful. She exists in the world, she exists! – The confessor fell silent, raising his eyes to the icon of the Wonderworker. - And I saw the white world, and people, and princes - various barons, once it happened even with the Tsar-Father to stand in the same hall... For her, for my love, I ended up here... And I’ll tell you what: you have to believe in her , be sure to believe! Love for the Lord can shelter, protect and save anyone from the Evil One - if this love is true! But other love is given to a person as a test. That test reduces the strong to dirt, and sometimes lifts the weakest above himself, elevates him... And there is beauty in that love, and strength, and... and anger, and deceit, and cruelty, and bestial lust!...
- But how can you guess, father?!
- No way, son! Only to those who walk, the road will open!... Just... please don’t tell anyone about our conversation. I...
- Yes, holy father, of course... Is it possible?... no... thank you, father...

Lucy: People can`t live without love, can they?

Lulu: I think they can`t. Love makes our life rich and eventful. It also brings reason for being and beauty to our existence. Unfortunately, time can erase love.

Lucy: New discoveries in relationship can save love. People have to discover more about each other then they will not be worn out of their relationship. If they are able to enjoy each other, they deepen and enrich their present relationship.

Lulu: I think mutual trust, honesty, respect for the individual, readiness to understand and to help can work wonders. Without these temperamental attributes love will die some day.

Lucy: You are right. These things are very important for love. Some people say love is a fairy tale. What do you think about it?

Lulu: On the one hand love is a fairy tale and on the other hand it is our real life. Some people like to live in a fictional world but the modern real world often pulls them back to earth. And there are very many different problems in our life and in our love. In fairy tales the good always overcomes the bad. In life and love the bad often wins. If people consider love only as a fairy tale they usually do nothing to support it. And love is to be supported. People who don`t care of love mainly lose it.

Lucy: You have a very interesting point of view. I will thing about it.

Lulu: The way you present yourself is also important for love. You can comfort, excite, disappoint or frustrate your partner. You have always to think about what feeling your partner experiences in different situations. It is not enough to listen to your partner. It is necessary to accept him from top to bottom.

Lucy: You are right as rain! Love doesn`t belong to easy things.

Translation

Dialogue: About love

Lucy: People can't live without love, can they?

Lulu: I don't think they can. Love makes our life rich and eventful. It also brings meaning and beauty to our existence. Unfortunately, time can destroy love.

Lucy: New discoveries in relationships can save love. People should study each other more, then they will not get bored with their relationship. If they are able to enjoy each other, then they deepen and make their relationship richer.

Lulu: I believe that mutual trust, honesty, respect for individuals, a willingness to understand and help can work wonders. Without these character traits, love will one day die.

Lucy: You're right. These things are very important for love. Some people say that love is a fairy tale. What do you think about this?

Lulu: On the one hand, love is a fairy tale, but on the other hand it is ours real life. Some people enjoy living in a fantasy world, but today's real world often brings them back down to earth. And in our life and in love there are many different problems. In fairy tales, good always triumphs over evil. In life and in love, evil often wins. If people see love only as a fairy tale, they usually do nothing to maintain it. And love needs support. People who don't think (= don't care) about love in most cases lose it.

Lucy: You have a very interesting point of view. I will think about it.

Lulu: The way you present yourself is also important in love. You can be comfortable, but you can also irritate, disappoint, or frustrate your partner. You should always think about how your partner is feeling different situations. It's not enough to just listen to your partner. It is necessary to accept it entirely.

Lucy: You're absolutely right! Love is not something simple.

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Mikhail entered the spacious, empty pub and looked around. Two faithful friends were waiting for him at the far table. Sergey and Ruslan. A pretty lady sat next to Ruslan and pressed herself against him. Mikhail immediately recognized Christina and sighed. He headed towards them, ordering a cold beer along the way, and sat down heavily in the empty seat. There was silence in the close company. Mikhail was either gloomy or cheerful. It was difficult to understand anything from him now. He was recently divorced and was looking for new girl , however, his successes were small. They brought beer. Mikhail drained his glass in one gulp and looked around. - How is Sashka? – Ruslan asked, hugging Christina. “As always,” Mikhail shrugged. – We talked in the morning. Nothing new. All the same claims to pure and sincere love, which did not exist between us. – What about Renata? Mikhail became wary for just a second and broke into a nervous smile: “We also had a good conversation with Renata.” I confess my love to her, but she convinces me that I don’t love her. Cool. I’m not stupid, I won’t insist, and everything is clear - she wants me to forget all this and not interfere with her life. Everything is as usual. He waved his hand. “Hm-yes,” Sergei said in a deep voice, twirling a tin can in his hands. - Damn, just tell me straight, why bother? Explain. Why do they behave this way? “So as not to feel guilty for offending a person,” Mikhail explained. “It seems to me that this brings out more,” Sergei noted and looked at his interlocutor with a heavy gaze. – And they do this for a simple reason. Because after you say: “I don’t love you, but I find it fun and interesting with you, so put your love aside and let’s communicate as before,” most people will be offended and generally withdraw into themselves. And the remaining small part will not react quite adequately. “You can say this is normal,” Sergei said with offense. “You can’t say that normally,” Mikhail waved it off. – Because normal is as I said, and everything else is nonsense and evasion of questions. - But for you it’s better this way? -Have you even seen me? – Mikhail grinned. - I'm completely fucked up. Especially fucked up when it comes to being straightforward and honest. I have always been like this myself and I demand the same attitude towards myself. And I am ready for the fact that they will send me this way. But life has taught me to see an honest, straightforward answer from the veiled “I gave him a deadline until September, and then perhaps...” “No, nonsense...” Sergei waved it off. - Well, what else is the deadline... and then maybe... - What I bought it for is what I sell it for. Sasha also set a deadline for her “gazelist” - the first of June. Apparently, she likes to set up a prison regime for men. Set all sorts of deadlines. “Yes, it’s a bad case there,” agreed Sergei. - Let's not talk about sad things. “That’s for sure,” the interlocutor sighed and took a sip of beer. There was an awkward silence. Everyone thought about their own things. “But there is “love” there, but it’s not with me,” Mikhail suddenly raised his voice. “What the hell kind of love is that?” Sergei frowned. - Old man, isn’t it funny? “Well, it’s cool when there is love,” the interlocutor remarked gloomily. – Renata and I also fought over love. She explained to me that love is not what I mean by this word. What the hell is love in their understanding? They generally cannot comprehend that men’s brains work completely differently from theirs. What for them is love at the level of feelings, intuition, for men always has reasons. “Damn it,” Sergei sighed. - Remember yourself, you told me - fuckers. “Sex, dinner, comfort, care, affection, respect, that’s how love sticks together,” Mikhail continued. “And it’s no different for men.” And all the words “I love you for nothing, and not for something” are all lies. Because in a male company, when you ask when she’s not around: “Why do you love her?”, the man will break everything down point by point and begin to compensate himself - he’ll remember all the negatives, why he doesn’t love her. And say, don’t say, convince, don’t convince, one hell of a lot, understanding will only be at the level of “I understand, I can repeat what you said.” And the end of the relationship after you explain to her once what you mean by the word “love”, because for them it’s not love at all, but like that... And when you reach the age of forty you realize that you will never do this “ divorces” in the style of “why do you love me” cannot be conducted, then you will become the ideal prince and the only man in the whole world. Although she will not suspect that you are stupidly lying to her. And she will be happy because she is “really loved,” and not like all the other goats. It’s just that the question doesn’t come to mind in their minds. If this is such a prince, then why the hell did he find himself “on the sidelines of life” by the age of forty and still another woman, more experienced, has not taken him into her hands? Mikhail sighed. “And then there are mistresses,” he remembered, “who are cool to show off and fun to fuck.” Because they are younger and more beautiful than the wife. I didn’t notice that the average married men Do they have regular lovers who are younger than themselves? Let me explain. By the age of forty, you are experienced and know everything that I described. Lying to you, a young girl, is like lying to the asphalt. “Darling, I love you. With my wife I have the same, obligations, but you... then some vanilla crap about feelings... but with you... then some nonsense about how he becomes with her... Yes, I’m ready for you, I’m not ready - unnecessary cross it out, it doesn’t matter here, you can tell the truth - get a divorce... if not, then the reason is definitely the children... but only with you... and then again, snot with sugar.” Yes, it's all a lie! – he suddenly screamed. – He stupidly wants to fuck a young girl, everything else is fairy tales. Because there is a well-equipped life at home, children, everything goes as it should. Only the wife grows hopelessly old and smoothly passes into the age of a sexually unattractive grandmother. And here is a girl - beautiful and approachable. She needs to pay a little, we all pay for women, to one degree or another, lie according to the template and have her in any position. “It turns out that there is no love,” Christina said. - No love? – Mikhail asked and looked at her with a grin. - Yes, there is love, there is. And there is love for a mistress, only different. With my wife - everyday life, comfort, children, habits, habits life together. With a lover - sex, passion, again, a habit. What, does he love both of them falsely? No. Because for a man, love is always sorted into categories, but for a wife and mistress, from a female point of view, accents stand out: “Yes, he only fucks with her, he loves me, and only me for real.” “Yes, he’s with her only because he’s used to it, but with me real love, passion". Yes, you are both wrong. He loves both. Just if he tells you directly how it really is, both of you will blow his mind, because... In the female and male understanding, love is different. “It’s true...” Ruslan said with some regret. - And the rest is a lie to yourself... Christina pushed him in the side. “Uh-huh,” Mikhail said gloomily. “It took me nine years to formulate this.” “Well, better late than no one,” Ruslan grinned. “To be honest, I agree one hundred percent with the idea that men and women understand love differently,” said Christina. - At least that man's love looks completely different in reality from what women imagine her to be - this is the conclusion I came to a long time ago. Most of what you say is still your personal opinion, I can agree with some things, but not with others, perhaps due to insufficient life experience. Let’s just say that a woman’s nature, not devoid of romance, always wants to believe that a man simply loves her for who she is. Not just for sex and everything else, although sex is much more important for you men than for women. Yes, you are right in many respects, but in addition to everything that you have listed, there is also something without which it is impossible to build a good relationship. This is mutual understanding, at least some respect, a share of friendship, more or less coinciding life guidelines... If all this is present, then harmony in relationships is possible. If there is harmony, then the questions “why do you love me?” or “why did you stop having sex with me every day?” or “who is that brunette friend of yours?” will not be. In general, the most disgusting thing is all these questions. As Gumilyov said: “Relationships perish when they begin to sort them out.” “With the list of things without which it is impossible to build a relationship, you are one hundred percent right,” Mikhail agreed, “but the topic is not about relationships and not about falling in love, but about love.” These are three different terms. – Do you think love comes on its own, and you just enjoy it? – asked Christina. – Love still needs to be nurtured and maintained later. Relationships without love are empty, unnecessary and meaningless. “To the point,” Mikhail praised. – I’m glad that you understand about “cultivating” love. - Well, it’s just... how could it be otherwise? – the girl asked timidly. – And millions of people create relationships, families, without understanding this at all. “Tell this to my ex-wife,” Mikhail muttered. “I’ve been telling her this for 6 years of marriage.” And she still behaves like a thirteen-year-old girl. Although she is already thirty this year. – Is she older than you? – Christina asked and pressed herself even closer to Ruslan. – I know, I know young women whose psychology is like this. I don’t know what’s funny about this, apparently these are the consequences of the development of the era in which we live, but most women just wait beautiful love , a husband who fulfills all their desires, romance, passion, bouquets of roses every day and so on, as if relationships were created in order to stupidly satisfy different needs. Such an attitude towards life that it should bring everything to you on a silver platter. Of course, this also applies to men, but in a slightly different way. – And as a result, it turns out that for women consumerism is on the same level - flowers, romance, snot, lies about “you are everything in the world to me”, then children, and for men - sex, food and ironing and washing, and again well, children. Only for some reason, each of the parties, if you explain to them that the approach is consumer, begins to climb into the bottle. Women talk about “base desires,” and men say “what is this fool missing?” “Yes, that’s absolutely true,” Christina agreed sadly. – Just an oil painting of a standard modern young family. In fact, everything was fundamentally no longer as it should be. And such consumerism comes from the person himself. From his attitude to life, from his character. On the degree of his self-control, etc. “Correct orientation,” Ruslan laughed. Suddenly, a recent acquaintance of a girl to whom he confessed his love appeared behind Mikhail’s back. “Crap,” she said without even sitting down. – Sex is much more important for a woman than for a man. He finished and is happy. And then she mulls it all over in her head. If he doesn’t fuck, it means he doesn’t love him and so on. Misha. You are unlikely to find a worse female cynic than me. “It depends on the woman,” Mikhail said kindly. – Some people don’t give a damn about sex. And not frigid, it seems, but sex is in the background for them. I’m telling you, sex is not in the first place for me. I'm crazy, I need a riddle, interest, spark, passion, strength, cynicism, understanding, experience, a woman's own opinion. “Love is love,” said Renata. – I saw it with different men. Such that for the rest of your life - one. Whether there is a relationship or not. And you have no love. And everything you talk about here is crap. Relationships, words... there is no love here, you know? Love is God, God is inside you. His feeling and awareness. His acceptance. Only this is love. What are you all talking about - crap, do you understand??? Relationships, grinding. When you feel God in yourself through her, then you will love. You will love for this light within you. And she will be gone, but the light will remain. Light from love. And you will love her until your grave. Her alone. From which you will become brighter inside. From which you will understand why you live. And everything else is crap. And you won’t convince me with any arguments. Because love is a religious concept, and what you are talking about is human. That's the whole difference. “And here Michal Mikhalych was completely delighted with Renata Yulievna,” the guy sighed tiredly. – Such delight that only She appeared in his head, and no one else. And he began to see only Her alone before his eyes. And he cannot imagine his future life without Her. Because she will forever remain in his head, no matter what happens. “That’s what I’m talking about, Misha,” Renata responded kindly. – Not the head, but the soul and heart. This is exactly that: you are talking about the head, and I am talking about the soul. Yes, you finally understand what I’m telling you. I understand you now. “You have a concept of a soul,” Mikhail muttered. - But I don’t have it. Not at all. I don't have it in me. I have a head and a body. So just accept that I am built differently. And I also believe with my head, and I feel with it. And I have no other “feelings,” no heart, no soul, no chakras. I have it all in one place - in my head. “Okay,” Renata agreed easily. - We'll settle it on this. There are two worlds: the male with two heads, and the female with chakras. The girl made a gesture and fluttered out of the establishment. “Damn, how they love to talk about the soul...” Sergei howled. - Well, tell me, this is how... they talk about it, but lead a completely opposite lifestyle? “If you’re talking about promiscuous sexual relations...” Mikhail suggested, “Well, or about moderately ordered ones, then it’s elementary.” For women, this is explained simply - love is from the soul, and sex is from the body. Love is not very important for sex. “Ah-ah,” Sergei said understandingly. - Well, then the men start to get bullshit, something along the lines of: “I just can’t do that, I need love for sex.” And when he “pushes”, then a substitution of concepts occurs: “Well, it’s only for the sake of sex, what does love have to do with it?” “Damn, they don’t have any logic... Personally, my primitive opinion... They reason through...” Sergei looked at Christina and remained silent. - Men have two heads, and they think with them, women have four lips, and they spank with them. Ruslan burst out laughing, Christina smiled too. “Yes, there is just logic,” Mikhail said. - Only it’s not the same as men’s. Akin to jurisprudence or financial analysis, “whatever is convenient, we put it, in any case, we can explain the result.” It’s just that if for men everything happens at the level of thinking, then for women it’s more at the level of intuition. But they don’t really want to believe it. “And you won’t convince anyone,” Sergei chimed in. – Listen, tell me: what do you want to achieve by discussing this topic? – asked Christina. - I? – Mikhail said in confusion and looked around. – At first, I just wanted to whine, now... I haven’t had such interesting communication for a long time. Opinions of various people. Men and women. I want to understand the problem, find common ground, how a man’s perception of reality can be explained to a woman. “I understand your desire, but it’s still hardly possible to explain men’s perception of reality to women, and women’s to men. It’s just that when people love each other and are ready to be together, overcoming all sorts of difficulties, the global problem of eternal misunderstanding between a man and a woman will move aside altogether. – And in this case it doesn’t matter how they love, right? – Mikhail clarified. – Can everyone love in their own way? Or is it important that nature be the same? “What I mean,” the girl explained, “is that it’s useless to explain all this to an ordinary woman who lives half in dreams, half in her desires, or to an ordinary man who needs nothing but food and sex to be happy.” They won't hear, they won't understand. Only one whose soul is alive can understand this. And the soul is alive for the one who loves - “We’ve arrived,” Mikhail sighed. - I love - and I have no soul. Just because I'm built differently. Am I now incapable of love? Counterarguments? Christina thought for a moment. “Well, the nature of men and women has never been and never will be the same,” she said. – Yes, men and women love differently. Each of them should understand this and not demand from their loved one that he be the way you want him to be. In general... there is also such a concept: selfish love. When you love for yourself. And not for anyone else. This is already a sign that nothing good will happen. Soul - symbol the inner life of a person. If you think that you or people have no soul at all - please. Let it not be a soul, let's call it something else. - What does it have to do with yourself? – Mikhail was indignant. – I don’t love Renata for myself. And if she marries someone else and is happy, then I will also be joyful and happy for her that everything is fine in her life. – Despite the fact that basically everyone likes it that way. I’m not talking about you, I didn’t get into your soul, there’s that term again. According to you, the concept of “selfish love” does not apply to you. - Listen, well, I loved my wife, too, not for sex and not for food. And not because of the child. I was pleased to see that she was achieving something in life with my help and was enjoying it. Only this was not enough for her, and the words and the “candy-bouquet period” were important for the rest of her life. That was the end of it all. And what does she have now? Nothing. Crazy boyfriend - Gazelle driver, who is 6 years older than her, and what she achieved with me. Among the achievements, I do not mean the “spiritual world” and “understanding of life.” Because in these categories she doesn’t listen to me at all. Mikhail looked into his empty glass. - No, I’m still strange. He confessed his love to the girl, but she and I never even held hands. So what is this? Love for sex? No. Craving dinner in the evenings? Yes, no either. And did I love my wife differently? Yes, I don’t like it any other way, strange as it may seem. He put strength into it, forced it to develop. Yes, and she forced me to develop. I also achieved a lot because of her. And I am still grateful to her for this. And for this I respect her. Only now all this love goes “for something” and “for something”, and not the way they tell me. Anyway, I have cause and effect in my head. Even for love. Only the reasons are sophisticated. – Tell me, what else does Renata need? – asked Sergei. -What does she need? – Mikhail asked again and looked at his friend with a dull look. – Financially – a house in Switzerland, children, a husband with a stable job. Just dreams that she is systematically moving towards. Spiritually, she said that there should be “love” inside her. Inside. Nope. Not manifestations from a man, not a twinkle in the eyes, and not worship of her, but precisely within her. “Hmm, wait,” Sergei frowned. “That is, she feels for a groom who gives a damn... “And the funniest thing,” Mikhail continued, “is that she can cultivate this love inside when she needs it.” Exactly in the format as she sees it. Exactly what Christina was talking about. This is the only thing that requires desire. In September, her current fiancé, who is not asking her to marry her, ends, and she will switch to someone else. Who will lie better, as I told you. Who won't tell her the whole truth to her face? – Do you manage to wait and live in hope? – Sergey clarified. - What the hell kind of hope? – Mikhail waved him off. – For Renata now I am an option out of despair. Simply because I told her the truth, and not what she wanted to hear. If I had lied, kept silent about how it really is, there would have been a chance. Was it different with Masha? Yes, the same thing. She loved me for my determination, character, core. She intuitively began to approach the idea that love is “for a reason,” but “for something.” And I loved her for her kindness, and I became kinder to her. And we broke up with her only because I could no longer lie to her about the absence of reasons for love, hide all these reasons and all the love that was in me, to be more precise. It hurts, it's offensive, but it's true. And to this day I wish only the best for her, and I will be happy when everything in her life turns out great. But if I told her about my motives, what would happen? They would have broken up anyway. She wouldn't understand me. Because women don’t understand. They understand only when the moment of hopelessness comes. But it can also end. It’s just that for some it comes early, like Christina, and for her everything will change, this cool feature of female perception will come, which we call “female logic,” and for others, like Sasha, for example, it will take years to thirty-five comes, and there all that remains is to be content with what he got, the “leftovers.” Hammer the last nail into the coffin with your happiness “as you want” and start living “as it turns out.” Only Sasha has one huge bonus over many others - her daughter Dasha. But Renata has no children. And the biological clock is ticking every day, and the instinct of reproduction begins to take precedence over spiritual desires. “I agree here,” Sergei picked up. “And although Sasha really wants a second child, she will no longer die in sadness because she has not had children in her entire life. And this gives her a small, but still, hope that she will find her prince. Deceitful and dodgy, like her previous ones, and not honest and open, like me. Mikhail put the tip on the table, said goodbye and went outside. It was wet, damp and gloomy. He took out a cigarette, lit it and slowly walked home.