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Short Meditation on "Unrequited Love" pt. 2
Ok, so there's the scenario (you've seen this in movies, and read it in books, and saw it on Dr. Phil or Jerry Springer or something) where there are two people totally in love, but somehow one or both of them married or are in committed relationships with someone else. OMG.
Right, so they can't "requite" the love because it is against the rules. But you know how humans are, sometimes they break the rules. And then ruin their lives. In other cases, like in Lost in Translation, they go back to their lives but it is an emotional letdown.
In these sorts of stories where the "heroes" end up doing the noble thing and it sucks, I notice that the main characters are almost always stuck in relationships with people that are unpleasurable to be around. This happens because people really want to feel loved or just secure. Of course, people make sacrifices to get this and then afterwards find out that they could have done a lot better. Or sometimes, you end up with someone who changes for the worst as time goes on. That's bad, because as time goes on you're supposed to learn how to handle life better, not worse. Some people don't work that way though.
Another example of this problem is when for some reason you aren't supposed to be with the other person. Maybe it is the early 1900s and you're white and the other person is black. Maybe you're both gay, but are trying to live "normal" lives. Maybe you met someone on vacation and then had to go back to 3000 miles away. There are lots of reasons.
Nowadays we have instant messagers, e-mail, cell phones, and other ways to keep in touch with these people. That can make unrequited love stories more painful though. Also, they can be comical, because once you end up with the person you've been talking with on the computer for so long you might not realize how different they actually are when they're right next to you with real mouths and real bad breath and real selfish issues about spending a lot of your money on clothes, sushi, and gym fees to a gym that you never go to. Or what if the sex is just a major letdown!
I think it would make sense if the rest of my life were a comedy based on these sorts of problems. It wouldn't be until I'm old that I'd realize this was all a joke. Then a genie would surprise me, maybe when I was screwing around with my Tibetan singing bowl and say "Surprise, I'm a genie that hides in a Tibetan singing bowl instead of a lamp. I'm not giving you any wishes that you get to choose. You're just going back in time to your 20s and you'll met the woman you were supposed to fall in love with and get married to and you'll live your life the way you were supposed to instead of this mildly depressing comedy." I would say "thank you" but I'd feel a little cheated. I'd want my normal three wishes so that I could be rich, so I could fly, and to live forever. Of course, these wishes would ultimately make me feel miserable because those kinds of wishes backfire. This is how it works though.
Right, so they can't "requite" the love because it is against the rules. But you know how humans are, sometimes they break the rules. And then ruin their lives. In other cases, like in Lost in Translation, they go back to their lives but it is an emotional letdown.
In these sorts of stories where the "heroes" end up doing the noble thing and it sucks, I notice that the main characters are almost always stuck in relationships with people that are unpleasurable to be around. This happens because people really want to feel loved or just secure. Of course, people make sacrifices to get this and then afterwards find out that they could have done a lot better. Or sometimes, you end up with someone who changes for the worst as time goes on. That's bad, because as time goes on you're supposed to learn how to handle life better, not worse. Some people don't work that way though.
Another example of this problem is when for some reason you aren't supposed to be with the other person. Maybe it is the early 1900s and you're white and the other person is black. Maybe you're both gay, but are trying to live "normal" lives. Maybe you met someone on vacation and then had to go back to 3000 miles away. There are lots of reasons.
Nowadays we have instant messagers, e-mail, cell phones, and other ways to keep in touch with these people. That can make unrequited love stories more painful though. Also, they can be comical, because once you end up with the person you've been talking with on the computer for so long you might not realize how different they actually are when they're right next to you with real mouths and real bad breath and real selfish issues about spending a lot of your money on clothes, sushi, and gym fees to a gym that you never go to. Or what if the sex is just a major letdown!
I think it would make sense if the rest of my life were a comedy based on these sorts of problems. It wouldn't be until I'm old that I'd realize this was all a joke. Then a genie would surprise me, maybe when I was screwing around with my Tibetan singing bowl and say "Surprise, I'm a genie that hides in a Tibetan singing bowl instead of a lamp. I'm not giving you any wishes that you get to choose. You're just going back in time to your 20s and you'll met the woman you were supposed to fall in love with and get married to and you'll live your life the way you were supposed to instead of this mildly depressing comedy." I would say "thank you" but I'd feel a little cheated. I'd want my normal three wishes so that I could be rich, so I could fly, and to live forever. Of course, these wishes would ultimately make me feel miserable because those kinds of wishes backfire. This is how it works though.
posted by Will at 1:18 PM
1 Comments:
If only my tibetan singing bowl could make me fly...
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