What is Romance?
Chick flicks can affect us heart and mind.
It’s awkward- that feeling we’re left with, sitting in a room with five other women post sappy chick flick. We all sit there, slightly teary eyed, sucking up the snot as we look at one another and wallow in a cauldron of emotion. We need resolution. And no resolution exists since fairytale man and woman are destined to a life of ecstasy, a life we can’t watch- and we only have salty popcorn and puffy eyes.
Oh and a few deadlines to look forward to.
We let ourselves get sucked in. If we are not careful, our emotions become intertwined with the film.
Our emotions feed our mind. These films feed our emotions a lie, and we end up telling ourselves that relationships such as those depicted are real, that life is that easy. We buy into the idea that we will one day find a euphoric relationship, in the perfect time, with the perfect matching earrings and purse.
There is a longing in the heart of a woman to love and be loved, to have a witness to one’s life, to feel significant.
The lie we buy into is that satisfaction of this desire comes in the form of chocolate and roses, surprise notes and elaborate plans. Is this the heart of romance?
I conjecture romance far transcends the material or even the kindness of a gesture.
For example- In seventh grade, the most awkward, scary kid from middle school who dedicated all of his spare time to magic cards and whose only parties were LAN: when he handed me the most articulate, profound 7th grade love poem, I can’t say I was exactly swooning. The question is why.
Connection.
There is something at the core of every person that connects one to another. It’s why being in love with someone is unexplainable. There is something greater than the tangible qualities a person possesses. You are not in love with someone because you can check off every quality on your list.
People are not lists.
We are spiritual beings, designed for connection.
