The title to this post was given to me by a friend, as we chatted today about love and relationships. We were looking at some photos and I thought some should be burnt, because they are just so beautiful and bitter to look at. She looked at me and said ‘They shouldn’t be burnt. Don’t give love a bad name.’ I knew what she meant.
Let me break it down. A relationship begins with a beautiful fantasy, where everything seems perfect. The man or woman is everything you have imagined day in day out. You have found your perfect fantasy. However, when things go sour, you in the words of Taylor Swift lash out like this ‘So go and tell your friends
That I’m obsessive and crazy
That’s fine, you won’t mind
If I say and by the way

I hate that stupid old pickup truck
You never let me drive
You’re a redneck, heartbreak
Who’s really bad at lying

So watch me strike a match
On all my wasted time
As far as I’m concerned
You’re just another picture to burn
Read more: Taylor Swift – Picture To Burn Lyrics | MetroLyrics

The questions I have for you are these; Were you wasting your time? What did you hope to gain from that relationship? What lessons did you learn from it? After your relationship ends, do you go around giving that person a bad name, or do you actually appreciate the moments you had together and learn from those moments?
This song describes a typical reaction to a failed relationship. When that relationship ends, you cut off all contact, burn all photos you took together and you sob for a while and pick yourself up again, smiling at any single guy or woman that passes your way, hoping they will notice you. You pray hard that they will be able to fill the “lonely” dark hole that was left by him or her. I am talking both to the ladies and men out there.
I am not saying that you are wrong in your actions, but just asking you to think over that relationship. Did you ever try looking at what was good in that relationship rather than just the bad things? Rather than holding on to what that person did to you, can you ask yourself why you actually were in the relationship? Did you care for that person for who they were or did you care for the attention they gave you that nobody else would?
When I say Don’t Give Love A Bad Name, i mean you should not think you wasted your time in the relationship. Don’t burn those pictures, but remember the moments and be grateful for those moments. Those moments are the ones that keep you smiling and they keep you loving someone unconditionally, because they were more than just your entertainer. They were your friend. You just needed to  looked beyond the fun to see the person they were. Love is not just about the physical and emotional. Don’t love somebody because they make you feel good. Don’t be with them because they buy you stuff. Be with them because you appreciate who they are as a person. Appreciate their character and personality.
Leona Lewis’ song ‘Yesterday’, is one of my favourite songs. I am not quite sure under what circumstances she wrote the song, but the words are just perfect for what i am trying to explain here.
I just can’t believe you’re gone
Still waitin’ for mornin’ to come
When I see if the sun will rise
In the way that you’re by my side

When we had so much in store
Tell me what is it I’m reaching for
When we’re through building memories
I’ll hold yesterday in my heart, in my heart

They can take tomorrow and the plans we made
They can take the music that we’ll never play
All the broken dreams, take everything
Just take it away but they can never have yesterday

They can take the future that we’ll never know
They can take the places that we said we will go
All the broken dreams take everything
Just take it away but they can never have yesterday
Read more: Leona Lewis – Yesterday Lyrics | MetroLyrics
The first half of the song is what we should remember in a relationship. The moments you had together meant a lot to you right? So treasure them. He or she may not have been for you, but was part of your happy fantasy that probably had something to teach you. Don’t hate them because they broke your heart. Hold your head high and thank God you had much to appreciate in the relationship. Did you grow personally?
I know this has been a long post, but bare with me one moment. I am done. I just need to leave you with this encouraging words from the only father who will never leave us nor forsake us, when all else seems to be against us.
Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated,5 it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,6 it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. DON’T GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME