And by celebrating love , that means celebrating love in all of its forms , and not just the ones that you have been socially conditioned to accept and promote . Whether you see samesex couples , polyamorous couples , alternative couples ( meaning those into Domination and submission and the like ) or monogamous couples , the reaction should be enjoying the fact that they have found someone — or someones — to share their lives with . Let them celebrate their love and acknowledge that they have the same right to be as affectionate and into each other in public as you do . Now , if they ’ re overdoing it on the PDA with exposing skin and the like , then yes , that ’ s a whole different thing , but then again , we ’ re all adults , right ?
Sorry , didn ’ t mean to get too pragmatic , but it falls into my theme for this month : love is love .
If you ’ ve yet to have the chance to read through my literary catalog , then let me clue you in on a little secret : rarely will you find a lot of the mainstream norms when it comes to relationships . I cover the gamut of the romantic spectrum : same-sex couples , polyamorous triads and groupings , D / s couples , and yes , I do have a few conventional heterosexual couples in the mix also . As much as I promote the sexier side of life , I believe in love in all its forms , and that love should be available to be read , viewed , and heard as well .
There ’ s a time-honored cliché that goes , “ Love is a many splendored thing ”. As an author , I have tried to write by that cliché the best way I can . As a reader , I ’ ve attempted to read about all types of couplings and groupings . For the most part , I can say that I ’ ve done my best to adhere to my own rantings about being as diverse as possible in my literary work , as opposed to just “ staying in my own lane ” because it ’ s comfortable and I can relate to the culture . After all , life itself is supposed to be about exploration , isn ’ t it ?
Even in my day-to-day life , I do my best to ensure the women in my life are happy with me as the man in theirs . I have my moments where I can do better , and as a Southern Gentleman , I don ’ t take disappointing them lightly . In fact , they can tell you , I take it harder than they do at times . So , you can imagine what this month is like for me — and it is no laughing matter . Being able to handle them in one capacity or another with their unique needs and wants is not supposed to be easy , but hell , I don ’ t do easy . If things were easy , everyone would be doing it .
Love is never without its challenges , regardless of the relational dynamic . Whether fictional or real , we love to be the fly on the wall of a good romantic story laced with comedy , suspense , and drama . Managing all of that , in fiction or in real life , takes the commitment of everyone involved to get through the storms and sunny skies alike . Because at the end of the day , the one ( s ) you love is / are the one ( s ) that matter the most . The rest of the world can go to hell .
There are few things in this world that make life worth living . The daily struggles of life , the ups , the downs , the failures , the victories , they all combine to encapsulate the human experience . The one thing that makes it worth the daily suffering and grind worth the trouble , is knowing that at the end of each day , there ’ s that one person who you know will do whatever it takes to help make it all better . In my case , there are three , and I am grateful that they do for me what I hope I have been able to do for them — help make things a little better every day .
That ’ s the beauty of love , after all .
Shakir Rashaan is the author of In Service to the Senator and the national bestselling Nubian Underworld and Kink , P . I . Series . He is also developing projects under the pen name PK Rashaan . You can find out more about Rashaan at www . ShakirRashaan . com .
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