(February 19, 2013 at 12:18 am)Rayaan Wrote: An article that I read recently and it seems that now would be an oppurtune time to post it here:
Viewpoint: Down with romantic love
Quote:Love is blind, the proverb goes, though it might be more accurate to say we are being blinded by a hyper version of romantic love, and are losing out on life as a result. To cut to the chase, I think that the romantic myth is one of the most pernicious of our times.
The myth is that there is someone out there with whom your life will be complete, and conversely, without whom your life would be a half-life. A major task of modern life is, therefore, to find this person and, falling in love, to cease to be two and become one.
It is hard to prove, though I wonder whether such a view of romance has become so monstrous in the pressure it puts on couples to find fulfilment in each other, that it actually undermines more relationships than supports them.
That is just an opinion, though, but I think it might be true for some people.
I agree, except I think that people buying into that are sabotaging their own happiness. I, for one, do not buy into the myth, and I mmmmmight even go so far as to say the "myth" isn't actually a myth at all, but rather propaganda which has been indoctrinated into a certain percent of the population of the world via ads and such for the wedding and diamond industries... oh, and religion. There is no such thing as a soulmate, and human relationships have no arbitrary timeline in which they are to exist. My grandma died with my grandpa at her side. My parents got divorced after eighteen years. I've never been married, but have had several long-term relationships that were mostly satisfying. I've been in love, and I'll tell you: it's worth the pain of breaking up. But, when it's over, it's over. The pressures of "this is forever", "I have to be perfect", etc. tend to sabotage relationships. I would rather be with someone forever, but take it day by day. I have no idea what I'm actually going to be like in... even... a year, let alone fifty, and neither does anyone else.
