Website owner: James Miller
Q. Why does "falling in love" receive so much attention as a
topic in literature, music, drama, etc.? What is there
about it that has caused it to be so glamorized and
romanticized?
A. The great interest in it is due to what it is able to do to
a person spiritually. It has the power to completely
transform a person spiritually, put new life into him, put a
spring into his step and a song in his heart. It is able to
so reinvigorate him, make him so happy, that it is seen as a
sort of spiritual solution to man's sufferings and problems,
as a sort of final purpose for life. At its best it can
provide a person with a life companion and in so doing
create a permanent order and structure for his life, create
a sort of definition for his life. The problem with "love",
however, is that the strong emotions associated with it, the
infatuation and euphoria, are short-lived. As soon as two
people start living together and facing the day to day
practicalities of everyday life the infatuation and powerful
feelings quickly disappear. In fact, all these powerful
feelings are really just a mirage, an illusion, a trick of
nature, generated by one's imagination and powers of
fantasy, and serving nature's purpose of propagating the
species.
So, in fact, "falling in love" is a kind of illusion. It
is, in a way, similar to alcohol and drugs. It can provide
an escape from boredom, life problems and general
unhappiness for a while, it can provide temporary pleasure,
but in the end Reality must be faced, the problems come
back, and possibly in double measure. For the escape itself
may create problems of its own.
Aug 1986
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