When you love someone all your saved up wishes start coming out.

In the eternal dance of love, where two souls intertwine and become one, there exists a sacred moment when the heart, once reserved and hidden, opens like a blossom at dawn. The wise Elizabeth Bowen, in her profound insight, tells us, “When you love someone, all your saved-up wishes start coming out.” These words, though simple in their phrasing, hold the weight of truth and wisdom that resonates across the ages. For love is not just an emotion; it is the awakening of something deeper within us, a floodgate that releases the longings and dreams we have held hidden within our souls.

In the ancient teachings, love was not merely an act of the body, but a connection of the spirit. It was the unspoken bond between souls that transcended time and space. The Greeks, with their wisdom, spoke of eros, the passionate love that binds people in ways beyond reason. It was said that in the presence of true love, all things—desires, hopes, and dreams—would rise to the surface like water from a wellspring. In the act of loving, one could no longer keep their wishes hidden, for the heart, in its vulnerability, could not contain the outpouring of all that had been saved over time. Bowen’s words echo this unveiling—that when we give our hearts fully, all that we have longed for rises within us.

Consider the story of Pocahontas and John Smith, whose love crossed the boundaries of culture, language, and distance. Their bond, though brief, was one filled with dreams—dreams of unity, of peace, and of a world where love could transcend all divisions. Pocahontas, daughter of a powerful tribe, had longed for a bridge between her world and the world of the settlers. When she met Smith, her wishes were no longer silent; they became part of her love for him. Her heart, once reserved for the duties of her people, found expression in her love for him. In loving him, she brought forth all the hopes that had been buried within her soul. Their love, though fleeting, marked the moment when her wishes were no longer hidden but spoken and acted upon.

In the words of Bowen, we understand that love is not merely the connection between two individuals, but the awakening of something vast within the lover’s soul. When we love, we cannot help but wish—wish for happiness, wish for unity, wish for the future we long for. These wishes, whether spoken or not, shape the very fabric of love. They are not just desires; they are the manifestations of our deepest selves, of everything we aspire to become, and of what we wish to share with the one we love. Love, then, is the moment when the heart finally lets go of its silence and begins to speak all the unsaid and unspoken dreams of the soul.

Let us take the example of the great lovers Romeo and Juliet, whose love, though tragic, was one of deep, unspoken longing. When they first laid eyes upon one another, it was as if the world stood still, and all their unfulfilled wishes—their hopes for a love unburdened by the barriers of their families—began to pour forth. Their wishes were no longer private dreams but became entwined with their love for each other. In their passionate devotion, all that they had yearned for was expressed, even in the face of tragedy. Their love was not just an exchange of words, but a flooding of desires, wishes, and dreams, one that could not be contained by the confines of their world. It was the coming together of two souls who, when united, gave voice to all they had longed for in silence.

Bowen’s words also serve as a reminder that love, at its core, is an act of revelation. To love is to be willing to expose your most intimate hopes and dreams, to lay bare the wishes you have kept locked away, not out of shame, but because you have found someone worthy of your truth. True love demands vulnerability, for in its presence, there is no longer room to hide. All that was once hidden in the deep recesses of your heart must now rise to the surface, flowing freely into the shared space between you and the one you love. This is the power of love: it gives us the strength to share our deepest desires and fears without fear of rejection, for we trust that the one we love will accept our wishes as their own.

Thus, the lesson of Bowen’s words is clear: when you love, you do not just give your heart—you give your dreams. To love is to make yourself vulnerable, to reveal the secret longings you have hidden for so long. The heart, in its fullest expression, is not just a place of affection but a reservoir of all that you have ever hoped for. Let this be the guiding principle in our lives: love is not about giving what is easily given, but about revealing what has been hidden in the depths of the heart. In our relationships, let us not just share what is expected, but also the dreams and wishes that have been kept within us for so long. Only through this act of complete vulnerability can love truly become a shared experience, where both souls are free to express their deepest desires without fear or reservation.