They say history always repeats itself. Empires emerge only to be brought down, or fall, often at the hands of another rising empire, leaving only remnants of past glories that once captivated the civilizations of yore.
The same is true on a micro or individual level, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. You fall in love, and suddenly all is good in the world, everything is beautiful, the sun never shone so brightly, all your enemies are forgiven, nothing can possibly go wrong.
And then you part, and everything that was ever good in the world takes on an evil, sinister, diabolical aspect, your heart is broken into millions of pieces and you think you will never ever fall in love again.
But history always repeats itself. Given sufficient time, your heart will mend, slowly heal, and one day when you least expect it, you find yourself falling in love again. And knowing history, this too may end in disaster.
So what do you do? Make a conscious effort not to fall in love? Stay away from all things carnal such as feelings and emotions, live your life like the Buddha and renounce all worldly desires? That’s one path of course. But being the mere ordinary mortal that I am, chances are I will give in to feelings.
After all, if falling in love makes me happy, positive and see the beautiful things in life, why not? Even if it doesn’t last forever, why not? At least I can die knowing that I’ve experienced happiness. And going through difficult periods in your life, to the point when you think there is nothing else worth living for, makes the pleasure of falling in love that much more worthwhile and meaningful.
As the poet William Blake postulated in Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, only when you have experienced sadness can you truly appreciate joy and happiness. Or if you prefer, as Aerosmith sang in Dream On, “you gotta lose to know how to win.”
The same is true on a micro or individual level, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. You fall in love, and suddenly all is good in the world, everything is beautiful, the sun never shone so brightly, all your enemies are forgiven, nothing can possibly go wrong.
And then you part, and everything that was ever good in the world takes on an evil, sinister, diabolical aspect, your heart is broken into millions of pieces and you think you will never ever fall in love again.
But history always repeats itself. Given sufficient time, your heart will mend, slowly heal, and one day when you least expect it, you find yourself falling in love again. And knowing history, this too may end in disaster.
So what do you do? Make a conscious effort not to fall in love? Stay away from all things carnal such as feelings and emotions, live your life like the Buddha and renounce all worldly desires? That’s one path of course. But being the mere ordinary mortal that I am, chances are I will give in to feelings.
After all, if falling in love makes me happy, positive and see the beautiful things in life, why not? Even if it doesn’t last forever, why not? At least I can die knowing that I’ve experienced happiness. And going through difficult periods in your life, to the point when you think there is nothing else worth living for, makes the pleasure of falling in love that much more worthwhile and meaningful.
As the poet William Blake postulated in Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, only when you have experienced sadness can you truly appreciate joy and happiness. Or if you prefer, as Aerosmith sang in Dream On, “you gotta lose to know how to win.”
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