Love is---un-scientific! There is no way to prove that someone is in love. There are no symptoms or physical signs, say, such as, ---a pimple, which protrudes at such a grotesque speed that you cannot help but notice it. You may ask, “But, what about those who suffer from ‘love-sickness?’ Do they not display some symptoms of love? Some people, who claim to be in love, are completely un-able to eat or sleep. Others suffer from absolute distraction; they cannot concentrate on anything but their beloved.” Folks, love-sickness is a symptom of the mind, unless, of course, you are trying to say you are --sick of love--; then that is a completely different disorder and you should be seeking the advice of a lawyer, not a doctor.
One should not make the choice to love someone, lightly. Yes. Follow your heart but do not mistake a fleeting emotional experience to be--- love. One’s emotions can be affected even by the slightest thing as food. There are some people who claim that chocolate has an aphrodisiac quality and may give one the feeling of being in love. A person’s emotions are so fickle and inconsistent that they shouldn’t be trusted, on their own; today you could think you are in love with someone but then tomorrow you find yourself falling in love with someone else; or you may just forget about people, and start making out with the chocolate bunny left over from Easter.
Love is a choice! We choose who we are going to love, how we are going to love them, and for how long. We make the conscious decision to love someone. Everyone has their personal preference when it comes to looks and temperament but ultimately they choose to make a commitment despite those things. We may be drawn towards a person through a strong emotional connection or physical attraction but we make the choice to love them and remain faithful to them. One does not contract love like it is a disease; how romantic is that? Just try to picture your lovers face when you tell them, “Honey, you are like a cancerous growth. I will love you till I die.” Basically, what I am trying to say is, we cannot prove that someone is in love because of the emotional connection people have with one another or that they find each other physically attractive.
Love---, itself, is the proof.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
My term-paper!
The Past Lives!
At the beginning of the year, I thought that our semester-long topic of women was going to be one drawn-out discussion, after another, of feminist-Nazi patriarchs. I was not excited to read books and plays of women who were overbearingly, strong-willed and ridiculous. Neither did I think that the books about women, written by men, would shine a very pleasant light on our, somewhat, fair sex. I imagined stories full of women who were either annoyingly opinionated or insipidly stupid and wishy-washy. Although, I had my apprehensions, I tried to look past my bias and my utter disregard for anything not written by Jane Austen and I found myself enjoying the works I read. I was right! The stories were chocked full of women who were weak-minded and sheepish like Antigone’s sister, Ismene; or strong-willed and militant such as Venus, Antigone, or Lysistrata. But the stories that I most enjoyed, were the Tales from Ovid. He wrote about so many diverse women and circumstances that one receives a balancing of the Nazi-feminist and the sappy-sentimentalist.
As I read through the many Ovid stories, I realized that the past really does possess the present. In each story, although, breeching the point of being utterly absurd, it had its moments of reality. Which made me wonder, are women today really that much different than from when Ovid lived? Women still feel love, and hate, and sometimes indifference. They can, and still do, display fits of passionate love equaling that of Thisbe for Pyramus; or unending sorrow, such as, Niobe, the weeping stone, had for the loss of her children; or unalterable revenge, like the one Minerva took towards Arachne. Every single instance of passion mentioned in Ovid’s stories has been mirrored in the lives of all women, in every nation, and in every generation; just take away the immortal, god-like beings and the random physical transformations, and there would be a story of someone you may know. Often times, I have tried to imagine myself in the situations of the Ovid heroines; wondering what I would have done if I was in their place. I still do not have a clue.
When we were assigned the one-minute synopses’ of an Ovid story, I read the story of Niobe. I really enjoyed reading about her. The story of Niobe was literarily vivid and had a straight forward moral to the story. I was particularly drawn to the story of Arachne, for the same reasons. They both were women who had boasted of their “talents” and were then punished for boasting. When reading of their complete disregard for the higher powers, I cannot help but think, “I would never do anything that stupid.” But when I took a step back and looked closer to the women today, or even looked closer at my own self, I realized that boasting is an integral part of our everyday lives. We may not realize that we are boasting or that we have not given credit, where credit is due, but we all take a certain pride in ourselves and our families.
Along with imagining myself in the heroine’s shoes, I tried to picture what the relationships would have been like between the gods and mortals. In many of the tales, lowly human beings were granted immortal status just because a god or goddess took kindly to them. I realized then, that the boastfulness of both Niobe and Arachne, although foolish, was not necessarily unthinkable. They both probably knew of instances where the god’s granted someone favor and they assumed, by boasting of themselves and building up their pride, that they too could be given a higher status. Just because they were that good! How many times have I built myself up to expect something that I really did not deserve? Because, in many of Ovid’s tales, the main characters have either displayed good attributes that grant them some form of immortal status or bad traits that bestow life altering curses, Niobe and Arachne probably thought it would be a fifty-fifty chance whether they would be rebuked by the gods.
I really do not know why, but reading about women who are taken down a few notches is very entertaining. It is those payback moments that are so satisfying. Women who think so highly of themselves and boast that they have done it all on their own, finally receive the status they deserve. Niobe boasted of her fourteen children and how fabulous she still looked, after having them all. She did not give thanks to Leto for them; she claimed it was all because of her own doing. Because of that prideful claim, Leto took all her claim to superiority. Arachne, also, boasted that her beauty and weaving abilities were all of her natural ability. She failed to recognize her folly and she was turned into a despicable spider, to forever perform the task she was “natural” at. The biggest fault that both these women had was that they were not humble. I believe that the goddess’ would have been pleased with their success, if they would have remained humble and attributed their good fortune to their respective higher powers. There is nothing more attractive than humility. I have learned a lot from the follies of Ovid’s women, mostly that I am capable of the same exact foolishness. I have really enjoyed delving into the many classics about women and men, the age and youth, the individual and the state, death and life, and between god’s and men. They are active and evident in every work of literature today. What I have learned and will take away from this wonderful class is that--every past sorrow, joys, and love possess the every day, present of my life.
At the beginning of the year, I thought that our semester-long topic of women was going to be one drawn-out discussion, after another, of feminist-Nazi patriarchs. I was not excited to read books and plays of women who were overbearingly, strong-willed and ridiculous. Neither did I think that the books about women, written by men, would shine a very pleasant light on our, somewhat, fair sex. I imagined stories full of women who were either annoyingly opinionated or insipidly stupid and wishy-washy. Although, I had my apprehensions, I tried to look past my bias and my utter disregard for anything not written by Jane Austen and I found myself enjoying the works I read. I was right! The stories were chocked full of women who were weak-minded and sheepish like Antigone’s sister, Ismene; or strong-willed and militant such as Venus, Antigone, or Lysistrata. But the stories that I most enjoyed, were the Tales from Ovid. He wrote about so many diverse women and circumstances that one receives a balancing of the Nazi-feminist and the sappy-sentimentalist.
As I read through the many Ovid stories, I realized that the past really does possess the present. In each story, although, breeching the point of being utterly absurd, it had its moments of reality. Which made me wonder, are women today really that much different than from when Ovid lived? Women still feel love, and hate, and sometimes indifference. They can, and still do, display fits of passionate love equaling that of Thisbe for Pyramus; or unending sorrow, such as, Niobe, the weeping stone, had for the loss of her children; or unalterable revenge, like the one Minerva took towards Arachne. Every single instance of passion mentioned in Ovid’s stories has been mirrored in the lives of all women, in every nation, and in every generation; just take away the immortal, god-like beings and the random physical transformations, and there would be a story of someone you may know. Often times, I have tried to imagine myself in the situations of the Ovid heroines; wondering what I would have done if I was in their place. I still do not have a clue.
When we were assigned the one-minute synopses’ of an Ovid story, I read the story of Niobe. I really enjoyed reading about her. The story of Niobe was literarily vivid and had a straight forward moral to the story. I was particularly drawn to the story of Arachne, for the same reasons. They both were women who had boasted of their “talents” and were then punished for boasting. When reading of their complete disregard for the higher powers, I cannot help but think, “I would never do anything that stupid.” But when I took a step back and looked closer to the women today, or even looked closer at my own self, I realized that boasting is an integral part of our everyday lives. We may not realize that we are boasting or that we have not given credit, where credit is due, but we all take a certain pride in ourselves and our families.
Along with imagining myself in the heroine’s shoes, I tried to picture what the relationships would have been like between the gods and mortals. In many of the tales, lowly human beings were granted immortal status just because a god or goddess took kindly to them. I realized then, that the boastfulness of both Niobe and Arachne, although foolish, was not necessarily unthinkable. They both probably knew of instances where the god’s granted someone favor and they assumed, by boasting of themselves and building up their pride, that they too could be given a higher status. Just because they were that good! How many times have I built myself up to expect something that I really did not deserve? Because, in many of Ovid’s tales, the main characters have either displayed good attributes that grant them some form of immortal status or bad traits that bestow life altering curses, Niobe and Arachne probably thought it would be a fifty-fifty chance whether they would be rebuked by the gods.
I really do not know why, but reading about women who are taken down a few notches is very entertaining. It is those payback moments that are so satisfying. Women who think so highly of themselves and boast that they have done it all on their own, finally receive the status they deserve. Niobe boasted of her fourteen children and how fabulous she still looked, after having them all. She did not give thanks to Leto for them; she claimed it was all because of her own doing. Because of that prideful claim, Leto took all her claim to superiority. Arachne, also, boasted that her beauty and weaving abilities were all of her natural ability. She failed to recognize her folly and she was turned into a despicable spider, to forever perform the task she was “natural” at. The biggest fault that both these women had was that they were not humble. I believe that the goddess’ would have been pleased with their success, if they would have remained humble and attributed their good fortune to their respective higher powers. There is nothing more attractive than humility. I have learned a lot from the follies of Ovid’s women, mostly that I am capable of the same exact foolishness. I have really enjoyed delving into the many classics about women and men, the age and youth, the individual and the state, death and life, and between god’s and men. They are active and evident in every work of literature today. What I have learned and will take away from this wonderful class is that--every past sorrow, joys, and love possess the every day, present of my life.
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