Loving in the Moment
design: Revati Mahurkar
The lesson behind Dexter and Emma.
by EMMA NEENAN ★ JUNE 16, 2024
If you haven't seen this heart-wrenching addition to Netflix, One Day, this is your sign to watch it. Whether you have watched the series or not, there is one important takeaway: love in the present. The series takes us through the story of Dexter and Emma and their ongoing friendship that they both wanted to become more than it was. They were never in the right place, nor at the right time, but they always found each other again. They spent countless years watching each other from a distance while they moved through their lives. From dating other people to getting married, and having children with different people, they had watched each other do it all. However, at the end of the day, they always found their way back to each other.
This series shows us the importance of now. Wasting time wondering how another person truly feels while you have an abundance of emotions is a waste of time and a disservice to yourself. The story of Dexter and Emma encourages us to love abundantly and to do so without thinking about the consequences that this love brings. Whether it's rejection, awkward conversations, or redirection, it is worth it if your feelings are strong and pure. We see throughout the series how Dexter and Emma both take turns suppressing how they feel about each other, feeling frustrated as they miss the cues, but the situation itself is very realistic. How many times have you bitten your tongue in fear of being rejected?
Life is unpredictable and unfair and does not account for unexplored love. I am a firm believer that you should tell people exactly how you feel about them when you feel it, although that is much easier said than done. The thought of your long-time crush not liking you back isn't something anyone would want to happen. However, what happens if they feel the same? What happens if they were just as afraid to say something as you were?
This concept also goes for much more than just romantic love. Expressing how you feel can also be applied to platonic love between our best friends and family. Letting the people in our lives know how we feel about them is an opportunity that can be taken from us at any moment, so use that opportunity whenever you feel that love. Sending your mom a picture of something you thought was beautiful while you are miles away, or sending your best friend flowers just because, are all little ways of us showing this love. The ability to love is so fragile and beautiful, especially after experiencing what it’s like to not be able to express that love.
Of course, there are certain situations where people are not worthy of the love you have to give. However, if you are lucky enough to have people in your life who love you abundantly, do not take those relationships for granted or push them under the rug for the “right time.” The truth is, there is no “right time” at all, but rather it is about when people choose to make time. Choosing to make time for the people you love even in moments of stress and chaos demonstrates the importance of those relationships. Sending a text takes two seconds and requires little to no effort, a phone call to fill someone in on your day makes you feel closer to them, and pictures of beautiful things you see can make their stressful day 100 times better.
So, if you take one thing from both One Day and this article, let it be this: do not press pause on your emotions to prevent what could happen, rather act on how you feel and be genuine to your own heart. The greatest disservice we can do as humans with so many emotions is to suppress them. Love surrounds us everywhere—welcome it with open arms and look at it as something beautiful rather than something that is a burden to you. Make the phone call, send the text, because right now you can.