Does Love Have an Expiration Date?

1. 60

   lizy625posted 14 years ago

   Countless times, I have asked myself-"How many times can a heart mend?" After being loved, falling in and out of love, swearing off love, rekindling love, searching for a new love, looking for and old love... Ladies and gentlemen-we never seem to stop.
   Everyone will have that first love. That person who makes your skin tingle just by the thought of them.The one and only object of all affections will consume your thoughts, desires, even agenda!Make your heart race, your body ache, and cloud all judgement. Most often , not a "keeper".
   Most will have a second love, a more refined version of the first love, only emotions and body functions become a little more graspable. The second love is usually a viable contender for the "keeper" position, and tends to stay much longer.
   Some will have a third love. Possibly the hearts janitor. They will clean up what they can of the other damage, and vow to keep things as good as they can. They might offer comfort, advice or wisdom. They say ..."3rd times a charm"..., so this one is planned to be a "keeper", and most often is.
   Very Few will have a fourth love. This will be a time of self evaluation, denial, and probably rejuvination. The fourth love usually comes with their own baggage, and is far more likely to accept what comes their way with open arms.
   By the fourth love, one begins to wonder if love will expire. Will it melt away and be gone forever?

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      monicaelayneposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      LOve doesn't go away. For what ever reason, as we are growing as individuals, our needs from ourselves and others change and affect what we consider to be "love". When I was 15 love was when he held my hand and made sure I got first dibs on the front seats by the basketball court. When I turned 17, love was when someone supported my decisions and was happy for my successes. When I turned 19 I had developed a cold heart from a prior relationship and because I didn't love myself, love didn't make sense at that time in my life. When I turned 21, I had healed myself, loved the woman i was, and love began someone who complimented my already developed life.  Love was when he supported me, appreciated me, communicated well, and had his own emotional stability and life. Now at 25, love is committment, give and take, laughter and tears. It is when you look at him and you know that he is doing the best he can not just for himself, but for you too.
      
      So, as you can see, even in short bouts of time, love changes, but it doesn't necessarily go away. It just keeps changing its outfit.

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         Susana Sposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I really love what you've written here! Very insightful and meaningful. This is my experince of love too - ever changing

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      Goddardposted 14 years agoin reply to this

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      whispers of faithposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      no i dont think love has an experation date. if you really trully love someone you will always love them thats the way i believe it should be.

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   4. 61

      lbtraderposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      lizy625 if you can write hubs with this type of passion in them i'm a fan....
      
      this is me to a tee...
      
      My fourth love is a curse called memories. And it is a compilation of things I think about when others are loving the one they love while I write stupid hubs....

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      CaliRicaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      No.  Love is an energy.  Once tapped into, it's yours for as long as you wish.  Fear is its only foe.

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      dahoglundposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      The trick is to know when it is love and when it is an illusion.

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      the pink umbrellaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      the more someone betrays you, the harder it is to keep loving them, but no matter how much they change, you still have the same love for the person they used to be. But thats just me...i do believe you can fall in and out of love, i just havnt experienced it yet.

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   yoshi97posted 14 years ago

   Weddings tend to end love ... no wait, that's not right ... actually, love only ends when you decide to finally let go.

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      rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      and then it doesn't end... reminds me of a poem I wrote once about 'where does love go when you let it go?'  I'll find it and post it for you.

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      Crazdwriterposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      LMAO you are funny yoshi!
      
      and no love does not have an expiration date...well at least for me it doesn't...sadly for others sometimes it does.

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         akramiposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I think the love which you mention is not actually love, but is mere amusement and enjoyment and so it will end with marriage or someone lets it to go by.  As both the partners in these activity or affair, whatever you may call it, are not in love with each other, but they are in love with amusements and enjoyments, which can be end at any time.
         
         However, Love is the name of the bird, which never dies. According to my view, love starts after marriage only and a true love will never last even after the death.  Even though, one of the partners dies, the love for that the partner which was separated because of the death, will never end and a true lover will always keep her lover in mind throughout his/her life.

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      Himitsu Shugishaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Incorrect, love only begins when you decide to let go.

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   rebekahELLEposted 14 years ago

   I wrote this a few years ago after a relationship ended. I don't think love ends~
   
   
   
   Where Does Love Go?
   
   This love that we breathed
   And let flow through our veins,
   Does it now fall from the heavens
   As
   A pure drop of rain?
   
   Oh where does it go when we let it
   Go…
   Does it fall upon a blade of grass
      And
   Spring up as the lovely flower of June?
   
   
   Does it  fill the song of a bird
   Singing softly in the night.
   
   
   Dare I should turn around and expect
   To catch the last setting shades of the
   
   Sun?
   
   Echoes heard in the Aegean Sea
   Rippled currents calling again
   And again
   his name.
   
   rebekahELLE

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      Sue Adamsposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Love doesn't have an expiration date, not even until after the loved one/s have long gone to heaven.

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   Dominionmaster2posted 14 years ago

   Well lizy, I think love is what you make of it good or bad. Does it ever go away? I don't think so, I think everyone's capacity to love and be loved is strictly up to the individual.
     I have had times when I told myself I was never going to love again, and actually made a conscious effort not to let anyone in. It wasn't until I reopened my heart that I fell in love again and again and again. Pain, especially from the heart can sometimes make you want to run from love. It is not until we truly take control of what we will allow and accept from another person that we become equipped to handle everything that love brings with it.
      Once you do this love can come again and again, as many times as you want to let it. If any kind of love has an expiration date, it is that wild free, OH my god I gotta be with this person or I will die kind of love. There is something to be said for becoming picky about who you love.

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   ralwusposted 14 years ago

   3rd time worked for me, only death will do it in.

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      Paradise7posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Oh good for you, Ralwus.  I'm way too chicken to get out there again for a third go round.

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   Mrvoodooposted 14 years ago

   I’ve come to the conclusion that love is a delusion shared between two people as a defence against loneliness.
   
   Not an appealing notion granted, and it probably wouldn’t be overly successful as a marketing ‘call-to-action’ for the sale of Valentines cards.

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      Amanda Severnposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Viva delusions!

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         Mrvoodooposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         lol, delusions can certainly be a beautiful thing.

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            gkb47posted 14 years agoin reply to this

            "Love is Shared Loneliness" A Quote by GKB47
            
            It expires when it is not shared!

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      Himitsu Shugishaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Wow, Mrvoodoo, that voodoo that you do is not very positive.

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   frogdroppingposted 14 years ago

   I don't know - I have loved people then stopped loving them. But that's because they've killed it, over time, not because it simply ran out or whatever.
   
   And Mrvoodoo - misery guts

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      Mrvoodooposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      My eyes are open.

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         frogdroppingposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         As are mine. And I know if you keep yours open long enough you may be surprised. And that will serve you right

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            Mrvoodooposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Stranger things have happened.

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   Daniel Carterposted 14 years ago

   I don't know, maybe it's just me but there are billions of people on the planet, so it seems we have billions of opportunities to have our hearts broken, not just three or four....LOL
   
   I've had my heart broken several times. I learn something new every time. It's not easy. I hate it. But I think I've become a better person as a result of my experiences. I want to learn from my mistakes, I want to become my best self. I learned I need to become what I'm looking for, instead of projecting it on to another person, who will surely fall off that pedestal. Then as I become that person, people who are similar to me show up in my life, and it's actually a wonderful process.

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      rebekahELLEposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      very true, we attract what we project~ sometimes people wonder why they always end up with the same kind of person??

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      Jennifer D.posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      So very insightful and quite true. Become the person you want to share love with and wait as they enter your life. Then revel in the differences that you have, because there is just enough same-ness to hold you together. Nourish that love, cherish it and watch it blossom.
      And then be grateful that you have another opportunity to love, knowing that nothing lasts forever (because we humans have an expiration date).

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   ralwusposted 14 years ago

   I think it all has to do with aging, like great Scotch that has come of age.

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      frogdroppingposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Nicely put ralwus

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10. 60

    Radianceposted 14 years ago

    It gets hard to keep the faith in love. Don't stop believing!

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    Mishaposted 14 years ago

    Depends on your definition of love.

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       4tuneposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       So true, So often what I thought was love and what the other person thought was love were completely different things, LOL!
       
       Oh it can have an expiration date for sure when it turns sour and the other persons idea of love wasn't compatible at all with your idea of love.
       
       You can go from being a "Hopeless Romantic" to someone who could just barf at a romantic movie if you've been lied to, disappointed and hurt enough times. Then anything romantic starts to look like just another trick or lie, At least when it's over exaggerated and too soon.

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    hinckles komaposted 14 years ago

    1. Crush   2. lust  3. Dating  4. Relationship  5. In Love  6. Best sex. 7. Best friends  8. moving In together  9. Fights, Arguments, Jealousy. 10. Love.... / Attachment.   As you can see i have my own issues with Love. I know one thing for sure it doesn't expire just moves out from time to time.  Keep your Head up and your heart Opened.

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    O B Oneposted 14 years ago

    As long as your heart beats for the other person it does not have any expiry...

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14. 35

    humbledhomelyposted 14 years ago

    I've realized that love is just one of the many things two people need to have to make a relationship work.
    
    It always works out in the movies just to make you happy and not think about the 10 bucks you've just lost
    
    It'd be cool to run life on just love, but it doesn't work out.
    
    IMO, love is a relative term, that is, always different and ever changing for each person. Love at 3 years old won't be the same at 30.  You don't love your dog the same way you love your car, etc. (I hope)
    
    Sometimes it's lust, sometimes you love the attention. It's not always love, and you need to be more serious with that kind of stuff.
    
    If you're always falling in love, there's a problem that needs changing.
    
    I think love is everlasting, so many think they know what it is and a many few have experienced it.
    
    I fell for it's tricks myself

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    glendoncabaposted 14 years ago

    I guess every marriage goes through moments with your question.
    
    Is it time to let go, or turn up the heat?  Guess it takes two.
    
    I recently sat down and wrote a hub from the heart on the issue.  Sums up my humble opinion of one way to start loving again, sort of...  
    
    http://hubpages.com/hub/Starting-All-OverAgain

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    Flightkeeperposted 14 years ago

    Romantic love has an expiration date...when the money runs out.

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       zadrobiposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       If you run out of passion, then you're in trouble. Romance doesn't equal money and money will never, ever equal romance. Money will equal an exotic getaway to some tropical island but it's the ideas and effort that add the romance to the perfect situation. Of course, romance to me is a daily effort and not just something special that you spend money on every once in a while. Geez look at me blabber

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    glendoncabaposted 14 years ago

    Love is like a garden.  Without effort it goes to ruin.  Keep and care with daily attention and it will beautify and feed you.

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    Lisa HWposted 14 years ago

    When love is right and whole it doesn't die.  When it isn't completely whole (and therefore, not completely "right", even if it seems like it is) it's a ticking time bomb, waiting for life/circumstances to eventually set it off.  If those circumstances don't happen to occur, the incomplete love can go on, complete with imperfections.
    
    Maybe the trickiest thing to figure out (after the fact) is when love that seemed right turns out not to have been "whole and complete" and ends - not so much because the other person hurt us, but because we learn that we can't always trust our own judgment about what's truly right.

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       glendoncabaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Trust the collective wisdom of the ancients in your culture.  Unfortunately, the young are too willing to assume superior knowledge.  So we tend to repeat the mistakes of the past.

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    lizy625posted 14 years ago

    thank you for all the great comments, I take them to heart. I hope we all find a great love, it lasts forever, and we are happy_although reality will do what it wants, and I agree!! I guess love will continue to come and go, it will evolve, but at least I can say I have truly experienced it. Both the good and bad, and I am going to continue trying until I die!!

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    zadrobiposted 14 years ago

    The first love(s) is(are) the bags of potato chips that look and taste great, but you finish them in one sitting feeling unfulfilled and unhealthy. They never had a chance to expire because after you consumed all that was to be had, there is nothing left but the idea of the little supplement and satisfaction that came from the initial gratification of something new and tasteful. The final love is one that you come to know before you even open the bag. When you know you're ready, you open the bag and are satisfied simply by the aroma emitted by the bag. If you take good care of the bag, it can last as long as you need it to. If you leave it sitting around, opened and uncared for, it will surely expire before your eyes.
    Corny enough?

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    myownworldposted 14 years ago

    the definition of love certainly keeps changing. have u ever seen couples married for years and years sitting in a restaurant with not a word to say to each other...just eating food and staring at nothing? u ask them...even they will tell u, it's love....just a different kind from the one they fell into!

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    Delilarose316posted 14 years ago

    After 10 years, I gotta say there are times I think its over, but if you wait it out, that feeling goes away. and there you are loving that person all over again in a different way.
    It's weird. Love is ever changing. People just don't seem to have the patience anymore. I just happens me and my man are two stubborn people who don't want to give up. It always gets better. and then I'm always soooooo happy I worked through it.

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    reeltaulkposted 14 years ago

    There is no expiration date on Love, maybe their is an expiration date regarding the person whom you chose to Love or give your love to.  What people fail to realize is being able to experience such an experience isnt an everyday thing.  It is bestowed to those that are deserving of it as well as responsible to respect it!  Love and what it is to Love it is something that never goes away.  It is something that you are fortunate to experience and keep for the remainder of your life.
    
    
    Vonda G. Nelson

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    Wonder_Womanposted 14 years ago

    Love comes in stages I think, each relationship you love and learn, some love does have an expiation date bc you weren’t meant to be with that person forever, just learn to love for your next relationship, but once you find your true love, it shouldn’t expire. Lol something like that

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    sneakorocksolidposted 14 years ago

    Love doesn't change, infatuation does. Love in a relationship morfs into a deep loving friendship. So deep you can't imagine life without your partner. Infatuation is important in the begining it bind the relationship as time goes on and your strength wains you develop a much deeper relationship you become partners in life and face the world together.

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    Meaningful Mindsposted 14 years ago

    I believe that true love never dies.  I have been in an on-going relationship for 16 years and counting.  We are not married yet, and don't really care that we aren't.  We started out as any young couple all in love would be like.  The passion, the clingyness and so on.  Then comes the jealousy and of course the cheatings whether on one or both sides.  Eventually comes the I have had enough of playing the "susy home maker" role.  Couples tend to go thru the rejection and the loss of passion stages. That is totally normal as well, for you can make it passionate whenever you choose too. But sex obviously isn't the most important thing. Respect and understanding is.
    
    We have gone thru pry every stage a relationship could possibly go thru without the "marriage" title behind it.  We have grown up, gotten past, loved, lost, and forgiven, and can say that we are pry better and stronger than we ever have been.  So it all depends on what you are looking for, but your heart knows what's worth the fight.  No experation date here! And the sad thing is we are not even to our 40's yet.

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27. 63

    prettydarkhorseposted 14 years ago

    it is okay to have love and lost, sometimes when you are not searching, it will come to you, I have loved fully once and it didnt end like the way i want it to be, but I am always open to find the love of my life, am not rushing, it will just come to me, i hope it will be soon LOL,
    
    
    
    Love doesnt expire, even if you lost a love, the memories are still there, and you still love the person, even though the level isnt the same anymore, you still care..
    
    "I’ve kissed a guy... I’ve kissed guys. I just haven’t felt that thing.... That thing... that moment when you kiss someone and everything around you becomes hazy, and the only thing in focus is you and this person. And you realize that that person is the only person you’re supposed to kiss for the rest of your life. And for one moment you get this amazing gift. And you wanna laugh and you wanna cry, ‘cause you feel so lucky that you’ve found it, and so scared that it’ll go away all at the same time."
    Drew Barrymore; from the movie "Never Been Kissed"

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    beautyroseposted 14 years ago

    love is unconditional and timeless. But human beings are not perfect so it end up like foods with expiry date. lols

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    manlypoetrymanposted 14 years ago

    Love can have an Expiration Date...if you allow it. But, if you truly love someone...the Expiration Date...will itself, disappear!

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    Jeramiposted 14 years ago

    I don't think that love has an expiration but like a rose bush;  without nourishment it will wilt. It can also recover with re-nude care and attention.

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       Justine76posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       re-nude?
       that usally makes my hunny love me again....

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31. 60

    spiritactorposted 14 years ago

    Love has an "expiration" if you imagine it does.  You choose.
    
    I believe love is a pure light that you were born with; and its essence can never be taken from you as it had no beginning and has no end. You can choose who to share it with or offer it to; and it's an endless source.
    
    Those who say "Gee, wish I could believe that1"-- effectively, simply aren't believing themselves.

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    myownworldposted 14 years ago

    yes, it does. And thank god for it!

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    Cagsilposted 14 years ago

    Does Love Have An Expiration Date?
    
    NO! It doesn't have an expiration date. Once, you've loved a person, the only thing that changes is your perception of the person, which gives your love a different feeling.
    
    The individual perception of love is skewed, because of the lack of knowledge and understanding of their life or their own existence.
    
    Love is an emotion. You feel all different kinds of love for people, such as family and friends, acquaintences(who are in a long standing job, but not a true friend) and neighbors.
    
    When you 'fall in' love with someone, only your perception of the feeling you have for that person has really changed your interpretation of the feeling.
    
    Love is eternal, once applied to an single individual. Just your view about your feelings have changed.

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       Justine76posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       hi guy, dont you ever get tired of being soo so soooo ..thinking all the time?

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          Cagsilposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Sorry, it's a side-effect of clarity.

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    Denno66posted 14 years ago

    It does if it smells.....

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       Justine76posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       like garlic!! lets get kicked out of this thread too!!!
       KIDDING!!!!

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    Denno66posted 14 years ago

    Garlic!!!!! Smelly.(looks around) Hmm, may not be controversial enough. 

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       Justine76posted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Nope, you gotta say something like, that smells like Jesus
       or, that smells like an independant thought
       or, that smells like I dont agree with you ....

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          Denno66posted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Ooooh, I thought for sure I was on to something with the Garlic thought. Dang.

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    Denno66posted 14 years ago

    Is that a drug approved by the FDA?

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    Scott36posted 14 years ago

    There are many different types of love.  Unconditional love has no expiration.  Conditional love expires when conditions are not met. Love that has a foundation in lust is quickest to expire.  Many people think they love and tell people they do but the word love is a universal word to express an interest in that person.  Real love outside of family can be attained if the conditions are right. True love never dies just as energy transfers.

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    Krasotkaposted 13 years ago

    Unfortunately, the real thing, 'this crazy lil thing called love' does not expire and that sucks! : )

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    khmohsinposted 13 years ago

    Love never have any expiration date. its simple...
    Its us who makes our love strong or weak. We start relations with love and end up in extremely bad way..
    What if we take support of compromise. What the matter when we love someone so much that we want to die for that person and after some time we are not giving that person importance.
    Its us who are responsible or who makes love expired.

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    RedElfposted 13 years ago

    This thread popped up when I published a hub this evening, and I was so intrigued by the title that I had to come and add my two cents worth...
    
    
    
    If you be love, take then my heart;
    
    In joy, be thou my sun;
    
    Hold fast my hand, and never part;
    
    So share we life as one;
    
        Take thou my days, and in our nights
    
        Our love shall blessèd be;
    
    Where e'er we two with peace abide,
    
    Lives love, eternally.

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    Revilohposted 13 years ago

    I wrote a haiku the other day and it seems to fit this thread.
    
    The love we once shared
    Now bittersweet memory
    Purest thing I've known.
    
    I don't think love can expire, but i think that it can certainly reach capacity.  If you really love someone passionately, its nearly impossible to to love another with the same conviction simultaneously.  Its not until one truly moves on from one love, the he/she is thoroughly able to love another.  At least thats how I feel...

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    klarawieckposted 13 years ago

    Not if you follow the "REFRIGIRATE AFTER OPENING" instructions.

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    pueblomanposted 13 years ago

    I think one of the problems we all have is that we live so long. I'm 60 now. At the beginning of the last century a manual worker might have lived to 60, a woman longer if she hadn't died from uncontracepted childbearing. I know a number of people who've split up after 30 years. Had one of them died the year before they parted, everyone would have marked them up for the perfect partnership. Maybe we are not all programmed to stay monogamously together for 60 years . . .

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    kimmymoeposted 13 years ago

    I think you are right, No one ever really gets to see the fourth love and if they do they are lucky. By the time you get to the fourth one, you are kind of weary anyway and you may wonder if love was meant for you. For some people the second love finds him/herself cleaning up after the first love, just to reassure the person that there are some good people out there.

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    klarawieckposted 13 years ago

    Love changes but it never dies completely.

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       sofsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Expiration date for love LOL.... no, you change, your perception changes, your needs change, your emotions change but love ( make sure we are talking about love only)  never changes.
       Even the way you feel love changes,  your passion changes in degrees  but that  love doesn't.

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