Love Locks

Their love, they thought, was an iron-clad statement, fixed to the grill work of Pont des Arts bridge in Paris. Etched with their initials, couples professed undying love as they tossed the key to their lovelock into the Seine.

City workers in 2015 with a crane and wheeled dollies have dismantled the wire mesh panels – why? To preserve the bridge structure endangered by the weight of the lovelocks.

Bridges in cities around the world, including New YorkΒ feature bridges laden with similar locks of love that will soon feel the bite of steel shears.

Here’s one we saw in Zhitomer, Ukraine (2011)

Photo by Cliff Beaman

 


Love, the most passionate emotion on earth, has weight, both literal and emotional.

Pinterest photo: momentoskaka.blogs.sapo.pt

 

 

C. S. Lewis in The Four Loves adds more weight to the word

Love and familiarity

Friendship … is born at the moment when one man says to another “What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .

Love and loss

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”

Puppy love

Once when I had remarked on the affection quite often found between cat and dog, my friend replied, “Yes. But I bet no dog would ever confess it to the other dogs.

 

Charles Schulz Weighs in on Love

“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.”


Your thoughts on the weight of love, the pain of loss, the toll each takes.

A sweet comment about chocolate . . . ?

Follow-up: Comments are now open on last week’s blog post about my mission statement. If you wish, you can reply here: Β  Thank you!