Is love enough?

The last time, I talked about love, and what it meant for me and a few others. But this time, lets talk in continuation to that, is love enough? We love a lot of people, and say I love you, without really meaning it. But lets ignore all the times you said "I love you, man" to someone for getting you a cup of coffee. Lets talk about the times you really mean it, and love someone with all your heart. Is it enough to sustain a relationship? Is it right that every time one goofs up, you say "I love you" and hope everything will be fine again?

There is no set answer to this question, no correct answer. Like everything related with love, it is subjective, and means different things for different people. And as usual, I speak just for me when I say, no, it isn't enough. Yes, loving is a huge part of a relationship, integral even, but is it every thing? Nope. Respect for one another, listening to one another, trusting one another, and even liking one another is a major part of any relationship. Ofcourse, many of you might say that when you love a person all this comes naturally, but many a times it doesn't. We need to work for it. And, I'm sure all of you agree, that when we love a person, we accept him/her WITH his faults. But do you agree with his faults? Does it make those faults more appealing to you? I doubt. Ofcourse, you dont mind them in your partner, but do you not mind them in the world? Yes, maybe you do.

Love binds us, but it takes a lot of work to hold a relationship together. So yeah, at the risk of sounding like a debate, love isnt enough, not until coupled with respect and understanding, with a little sprinkling of the ability to listen.

P.S. This idea was conceived of my Chirag Jain, my awesome friend, and I just embroidered it a bit. I dont intend to steal, no way. :P