Nothing is more beautiful than the love that has weathered the storms of life. . . . The love of the young for the young, that is the beginning of life. But the love of the old for the old, that is the beginning of – of things longer. 
– JEROME K. JEROME

Every morning, just after you step on the bathroom scale to make sure you haven’t put on an extra ounce when you weren’t looking, you can step on the scale of love and make sure your ego hasn’t put on any weight. The critical measure is your capacity to be equable and kind in everyday relationships.

We all tend to feel impatient when something we want is waiting round the corner; and we all occasionally get angry when that something slips away. The positive approach is to be aware enough of this cycle to say sincerely, “Tomorrow I am going to be a little more patient than I was today. The day after, I am going to be a little more self-controlled.” Working on equability every day yields results.

Where intimate relationships are concerned, your love should grow. Don’t ever be satisfied with telling your partner, “I love you every bit as much as that first time I saw you at the supermarket!” Love should never be static; it must never become stagnant. Fifty years later you should be able to say, “I love you fifty times more than I did that first day.” That is true love speaking.

– Eknath Easwaran