Love & Suffering

“To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering, one must not love. But then, one suffers from not loving. Therefore, to love is to suffer; not to love is to suffer; to suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy, then, is to suffer, but suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be happy, one must love or love to suffer or suffer from too much happiness.”

~ Woody Allen.

"I loved you madly; in the distasteful work of the day, in the wakeful misery of the night, girded by sordid realities, or wandering through Paradises and Hell’s of visions into which I rushed, carrying your image in my arms, I loved you madly."

~ Charles Dickens, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ― Rumi.

 

City Lights, 1931

  

He has such a profound look of love for the blind flower seller.

 Charlie and Virginia Cherill in City Lights

"I can’t quite put into words what my heart does when I watch this film. I didn’t think I’d actually be able to pick a favorite Chaplin movie because they’re all so wonderful, but this is without a doubt my top favorite. There are so many endearing scenes to me in this film, it’s simply flawless. The look of profound love he gives the blind flower girl throughout the film. The sacrifices he makes to insure the girl’s happiness, like being pummeled in a boxing match or taking the degrading job of cleaning up after animals, and finally going to prison. And of course the final scene when the blind girl can see and is finally able to look upon the face of the man who is the reason for her happiness. Not a millionaire, but our dear Little Tramp." ♡

 The Gold Rush, 1925