Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Love

The following essay is written by Ryan Foo of 4E2, BBSS, 2010. The essay is produced raw and unedited.


Before the dawn of time, the omnipotent presented a doubled-edged sword, in front of Adam and Eve, the quintessential form of humans. The almighty professed ‘thou shalt possess indomitable power with this weapon. However, such raw power comes with a price’. Eve was notably neutral towards the sword, but Adam, consumed by greed and impulsivity, sauntered past the almighty, and brandished that very sword. He felt euphorically enthused and was already feeling the unadulterated power coursing through his veins. Eve watched in awe, as she watched Adam being consumed by the power of the sword. This sword, is what enabled him to ensure continuity of their own kind. Without it, Eve wouldn’t be attracted by Adam in the first place, if he had not possess the qualities of the sword.

That double-edged sword as we know today is love. The extended metaphor above is an apt description of love. Love is the consummation of the best feelings in the world. Yet, love, despite being magnanimous and unconditional, has its consequential damaging effects. That is the other end of the double-edged sword that has been ignored by many, including Adam himself. Being in love, may be the best feeling in the world, as described by fortunate ones. Love manifests itself in all forms of life, even the most miniscule creatures are not ignored. Ants are the exemplary creatures that exhibit this quality. Feral creatures such as lions and tigers, expresses their affection for their offspring as well. They can toggle between the roles of a caring mother or a malevolent hunter. When their loved ones are threatened, they would undoubtedly assume the former role. They would fend off whatever adversaries that are threatening their offspring. This shows how love is manifested in different forms of lives.

How about love among humans? Because of our superior intellectual abilities, we have interpreted something so simple, as something so vastly different? Love, as we interpret it to be, is full of intangible complexities that one, cannot possibly decipher, no matter how conscious one is. If we look at it simply, love creates a mutual bond between two individuals and the established bond ensnares them subconsciously. If only we humans, were simpletons. The very existence of us spawned several incarnations of love; namely lusty love, respectful love, motherly love, et al. These emotions offer us a spectrum of positive effects, but I digress. The most peculiar thing about love is that, It wouldn’t exist if there wasn’t a detrimental side plaguing it. After all, it takes two hands to clap. Men has always been extolling the pulchritude of love, and yet, lambasting it when they are finally sober. That is why love is a great paradox, as it is perplexing to see that such euphoria is accompanied by its depressing cousin. To substantiate my claim, you only have to recall how many suicides are induced because of love?

Love is the most profound, yet confounding feeling one will ever experience. It captivates humans, but yet many have fallen victim to its ineffable bait. That is why I would prefer to take the plunge when I have matured to a certain extent. We are the most impressionable at this age, and I wouldn’t want my perception of love to be tarnished, just by a wrong move. But, one must bear in mind the inexorable anguish when love itself is tainted by oneself.



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