LOVE - does it mean anything NOW?

“True love is like ghosts, which everybody talks about and few have seen.”

So said someone. And I must say I agree with it now. Today, there is everything between two people involved except love.

Life has invariably changed over decades, and so has the concept of love. We have heard so much of erstwhile love stories like Romeo-Juliet. Coming closer to our own country, we had Salim-Anarkali, Heer-Ranjha; so on and so forth. There was a lot of passion then . They were even ready to give their life for their love. Their tales of misery and hardships have been glorified through songs, movies, ballads. And it still remains alive (so to say).

But today? Let me cite a quote:

“For, Heaven be thanked, we live in such an age,

When no man dies for love, but on the stage.”

(It is obviously a cynical take on the present state of affairs!)

In short, People are in love with the notion of falling in love. And it all begins at an alarmingly young age. Today, even school-going children talk of being in ‘relationships’ and having ‘boyfriends’ and ‘girlfriends’. It is even more alarming considering the fact that they get physically involved at a much earlier age, when they aren’t mature enough (physically, mentally, or psychologically). The end result? Not encouraging.

Kids at this age tend to feel attracted or infatuated by the opposite sex. True. But taking it to such hitherto unimaginable levels do more harm. By the time they are 19-20 years of age, they have had enough of ‘love’ or ‘relationships’ .Because, obviously, their school-crushes or relationships were not meant to last. But what suffers most is their ‘concept’ of love. Adolescents begin off with ‘idealistic’ concepts of love being ‘true’ and ‘forever’, etc.

But wrong relationships have taught them otherwise. They learn too soon and too fast at such a young age! and Net result? They get disappointed and end up not believing in love or relationships.

And that is very dangerous. Because then they tend to believe that true love does not exist, it’s all a hoax. They fail to see that their ‘premature’ relationships, in fact, have disillusioned them. And the implications are numerous. Such youngsters have distorted views of love, of life. They get cynical about love. They tend to be more wary of other people, cautious of ‘falling’ in love.

The net effect is that we have a bunch of youngsters who have a very casual (shallow, in fact) view of love. For them, love is “time pass”. They change partners faster than their clothes. Having relationships is just a way of satisfying their physical cravings. Tolerance levels drop to zero. You don’t like something about someone? Then just “dump” or “ditch” someone! Everything’s over; just in a flash! Another of the woes of the ‘instant’ lives we now lead. Youngsters now need partners for just a show. Just some “arm-trophy” or “eye-candy”. It’s a means of staying in the ‘social circuit’. You know, just to ‘show-off’ that “I’m-cool-I’m-popular-and-wanted”. Most people end up not believing in marriage, and even if they do, they are rendered incapable of loving or being true to their spouses. Failed marriages & divorces are ample proof.

As for me, I had this silly notion (when I was smaller) of “a prince coming on a white horse and sweeping me off my feet”. And honestly, I still do believe in it! But jokes apart, I’ve not been ‘in love’ and stuff. I’ve had my share of ‘crushes’ and ‘infatuations’ and I have had the sense to distinguish what it really was (just a ‘crush’, of course!). Hence, I’ve not been “disillusioned” by illusions (so to say!). What everyone must realize that you WILL find love, if it is meant to be. Rushing off and trying to hurry this ‘process’ won’t do good folks! Patience is rewarding.....Right?(Let’s hope so).

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Thought for the day: “The me I see is the me I'll be.”