Today while lounging on the couch flipping through channels on the television, I stopped to watch a movie called "Prime". I immediately got lost in this movie, which is about a woman in her 30's, named Rafi, who meet and falls in love with a man named David, who is only 23. It turns out Rafi's therapist happens to be David's mother, who isn't very happy about the relationship between the couple. After some confusion and slight conflict, Rafi and David get through the rough patch and everything is okay… temporarily. David tries to explain to his mother that he loves Rafi and wants his family to accept her, because he would like to pursue a future with her. His mother simply tells him he shouldn't get too caught up in planning a future with her just because he loves her, because "love isn't always enough."

Now this wasn't the first time that I've heard this phrase, but it was the first time that I actually thought about its meaning and disagreed after reviewing my thoughts.

I said the words out loud.

"Love isn't always enough."

To me, meaning even if two people in fact do love one another, it's not always enough to keep them together.
To me, meaning love isn't always strong enough to continue to get through the little issues between the couple. (key word: little)
To me, meaning people often love others, but they put themselves before anyone else.
I'm not saying this is a bad idea, because it does in fact protect you from further pain, but we are so used to subconsciously placing our needs and beliefs before anyone else's, and usually refuse to change any of this, even for the one we love. It isn't easy to notice these habits, but it's really not extremely difficult to change them either.
It's so easy for us to fall in love and tell the person that we love them, we always will, we'd do anything for them, and that we'd never leave them no matter what. It's so easy for us to WANT to believe that true love may always last. It's so easy for us to throw these repeated phrases back and forth to one another, but when an issue really occurs, we don't act on our words. We do not prove them to be true. In some cases, this may be acceptable to go against what we've said or promised. Just because you love someone doesn't mean they should always have a power over your decisions or actions, but, like in any case, you have a decision to make. Whether or not (for the well-being of your loved one and the overall well-being of your relationship and keeping it happy and healthy) your decisions satisfy YOU or your LOVED ONE, you should know the difference between what feels right and what feels wrong. It isn't always easy. Sure, in any relationship there will always be ups and downs, but it's the downs that make the ups feel so good. The downs are just little bumps in the road that really aren't too difficult to get over, especially if you find a middle ground and work together. When this can happen, it's much easier to get past the small issues.

I'm not saying this follows for every relationship. Of course there are going to be liars and cheaters… the difference here, and the point I'm trying to make, is including only the idea of REAL love. Keep this in mind! Because in my mind, and I'm sure many others agree, true love doesn't include anything involving lies or cheating, stealing or abusing.

To continue, a real relationship and a real love shared between two people can only last when both people are willing to equally give themselves completely to the other and trust one another to give their full efforts in getting through the tough times together, to be there for one another at any time needed. It wont always be easy, that is a given, but it also wont be as difficult either, if a certain pattern is followed, or at least attempted.

So, in regards to the quote from the movie, I think I may have to disagree. Love can easily be enough. It just depends on the decisions and efforts of the two people in the relationship. If the two truly and completely want the relationship to last, they will do whatever it takes to make sure it happens. Sometimes you must make sacrifices to gain the best things in life. The sacrifices may seem unfair at times, but everything will work out if you continue to love, and continue to follow your words.
The saddest thing in life is love being lost over selfishness... not to mention, anyone who believes that "love isn't always enough."
That sounds pretty selfish to me, and I hope I never believe that statement to be true.