The Mirage of Perfect Love

Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Sofia who dreamed of finding true love. In her heart, she was convinced that somewhere in the world, her "other half" existed, a person destined to fill every void in her life and make her happy forever. Since she was little, she had been nurtured by stories and movies that portrayed love as a magical spark that instantly and irreversibly united two souls.

One day, while walking through the park, Sofia accidentally bumped into a man named Andrés. It was just like the stories she had imagined so many times: their eyes met, and she felt an inexplicable tingle. Andrés was kind, attractive, and seemed to understand her without her having to say much. In no time, they began dating, and Sofia was convinced he was "the one."

However, as the months passed, the initial spark began to fade. The conversations that once flowed naturally were now filled with awkward silences. Andrés, who at first seemed perfect, began to show habits and opinions that Sofia found irritating. Instead of communicating and working through their differences, Sofia felt disillusioned.

"Maybe I was wrong," she thought. "Maybe Andrés wasn't the one after all."

One night, while crying in her room, she remembered something her grandmother used to say wisely:

—Sweetheart, love isn’t about luck. It’s like a plant: if you don’t water it, it dries up.

At that moment, Sofia reflected on what she had been expecting from love: instant perfection, ease, and the absence of conflicts. She had placed all her expectations on Andrés, as if he were responsible for filling every void in her life. But she hadn’t made any effort to truly get to know him or to build something lasting between them.

With a new perspective, Sofia decided to talk to Andrés. She told him how she felt and listened to his point of view. She discovered that behind the small disagreements, there was a man willing to grow alongside her, as long as they were both willing to work on the relationship.

They decided to give it another try, this time with a different attitude. Sofia understood that love wasn’t something that simply “happened” magically. It was like a garden: it needed constant care, patience, and commitment. Though Andrés wasn’t perfect, neither was she. They learned to accept each other as they were, with their strengths and weaknesses, and to build a relationship based on mutual effort and understanding.

True love isn’t about luck or destiny. It’s an art that is practiced and learned, a conscious act of giving and receiving. As Erich Fromm points out, expecting love to be easy or that it will simply “happen to us” is an illusion that keeps us from experiencing its true depth and richness.