Is True Love Attainable?

I would like to share this story of Plato learning about love and marriage. I first heard about it years ago and happened to see it again today.

One day, Plato asked his teacher, “What is love? How can I find it?”

The teacher answered, “There’s a large wheat field in front. Walk there without turning back, and take just one leaf. If you can find one leaf that you think is extraordinary, it means you have found love.”

So Plato walked…and not long after that, he came back empty-handed.

The teacher asked him, “Why, you don’t bring any leaf?”

Plato said, “I can only bring just one leaf and when I walked through the wheat field I can’t turn my back. Actually I have found one extraordinary leaf, but I don’t know whether there’s any other leaf more extraordinary, so I didn’t take that leaf. When I walked further, I realized that the leaves I found are not as extraordinary compared to the leaf I’ve found earlier in my walk. In the end, I didn’t take any single leaf.”

Then the teacher told him, “So…that is love.”

Another day, Plato asked his teacher again, “What is marriage? How can I find it?”

The teacher answered, “There is a forest in front. Please walk there and don’t look back. You can only cut one tree, and cut the one that you think is the highest. That is when you find marriage.”

Plato walked there, and he came back not long after bringing one tree. The tree, however, was not a very good tree and not a very tall one, either. It’s just an ordinary tree.

The teacher asked him, “Why did you cut that kind of tree?”

Plato answered, “Because from my previous experience, after walking through the wheat field, I came back with nothing. So this time, when I saw this tree which I think is not so bad, I decided to cut it and bring it here. I don’t want to lose another chance to get it.”

And the teacher said, “Well …that is marriage.”