Today I read the story, Miss Harriet, by the famous French short story writer, Guy de Maupassant. True to the author's aim, I was driven to "think and understand the deeper, hidden meaning of events" . Initially, I cried profusely, weighed down by the sorrow of Miss Harriet. After all, we are human. We may feel, at some weak moment, afraid that our loved one does not love us. I thought about this well and hard. So what if the young artist did not love her back? She did not have to choose to end her life. Life is still beautiful, full of hope. What made her suddenly miss all of that beauty, lose all hope? Why could she not feel good about herself anymore? Is it an unpardonable crime to love someone who embodies beauty and goodness ? Or was it a sense of missing it within herself that drove her to this fatal outcome ?
Honest to God, we do not have control over who or what we love. Love is the gift of God. Love is about having faith in beauty and goodness. It is the driving force of life. We need to hold on to it. Death comes when we replace it by the negative feelings of doubt, jealousy and self-pity. Love is not about how your loved one feels about you. It is really about your positive feelings for Him (or yourself). Please notice the capital H as I actually meant the gift giver.
Troubled by my emotions after reading the story, I started to read the "Isoponishad" that I picked up at the Pittsburgh S.V. temple, recently. It talked about the four defects of human nature, to err, to be under the influence of imagination, to have a propensity to cheat and to possess imperfect senses. The book talked about a bunch of things, stressing on the importance of knowledge that came from an authoritative source and the necessity to accept that knowledge without questioning in order to fully understand the meaning of life. Of all the things discussed there, I understood that we are able to feel love because of Him and even in the most adverse situation we should continue to believe in His love for us.
4 comments:
Hey. I don't think I can connect to this post here. I mean are you saying that we should love unconditionally, because every human being is a form "God"?
Also, can you enable Subscription to your blogs? So, that way I can get notifications when you make a new post? I don't remember seeing a link for that.....
love is a very complex as captured by your thoughts and readings
I'm still confused about what love is. I don't think it's something that can be logically explained on a blog. Is love even logical anyway? Most times I think not and if that's the case can it ever be explained logically? If only I knew where the gaps in my understanding were I'd try to fill them in myself. You do make many good points in your post. I like the questions you pose and the tone of voice used. I took to heart the statement "Honest to God, we do not have control over who or what we love." I think life would be easier sometimes if I could keep that in the forefront of my mind.
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