It’s a strange feeling to realize that the expressions used for denoting both a person who chooses to fall in love and a person who has lost the love of someone both make use of the image of having an open heart, on the one hand, and having one’s heart broken, or “broke open” on the other. That is, having one’s heart open denotes both choosing to love/be loved and losing the love of another; the experience that causes us to feel pain when we lose the love of another is intimately connected to the act that allows one to fall in love in the first place; the experience that allows one to fall in love is the same experience that results in pain if and when the love is lost. This cannot be a coincidence. One chooses to love and one chooses to be vulnerable. One can’t love unless he or she is willing to open up their heart, knowing full well that the very act that permits one to love can result in a painful experience if and when the love is lost.