Love is

I came across this yesterday, and it completely took my breath away. I read it and re-read it, and decided it is officially my new favorite quote. Such beautiful words.

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. An when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because that is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself it what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. You mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossoms had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two." Captain Corelli's Mandolin