It’s been awhile since I’ve written about it—love, that is. I find it as fascinating a concept, now, as I ever have. More than vodka, and more than whiskey, love is the single most intoxicating concoction that I have ever known.

There’s something dangerously alluring about unapologetically loving someone, and it stems from having an organic, near-effortless connection with that individual. But love is risky business, as maintaining that connection, and that chemistry, can be a battle. A battle of internal and external warfare, for which is sometimes indecipherable.

Yet, I’ve come to appreciate the experience of love for the tremendous source of self-knowledge it has proven to be. Because in loving someone else, one acquires essential lessons about themselves, and about life—as love teaches practicality, resiliency, and commitment. And through those lessons, one learns how to be both patient and efficient, how to overcome, and ultimately, how to never quit.

That’s my Case of the Mondays.