The Three-Hundred-Year-Old Lover
Many of us live like we're going to live to be three hundred years old - especially when it comes to romantic love. For example, how many times have you heard a person say, "I'm scared of being hurt again"?
Honestly, I've never been scared of being hurt again. And brother, like everyone, I've been hurt! But even when I started in the dating game as a young, naive person, I somehow knew that holing up in my pain, sitting on the bench and not staying in the game would delay my finding a loving mate.
Also, the behavior of the people I dated informed my journey, too. The men who said, "My ex-girlfriend broke my heart, and I can never love again," made me vow to never make the new boyfriend pay for the sins of the old boyfriend.
Now, I'm not one of those obnoxious married people who has forgotten how rugged it is out there. In fact, the pain I experienced in the sometimes brutal dating world continues to inform every call I take. I sometimes wonder if God kept me out there so long so that I could one day empathize with my Keen callers, instead of judge them.
This attitude is best represented, in my opinion, by The Fool card in my Tarot deck. I think that the Fool is the Tarot's most vibrant image of strength.
Why?
He is seen jauntily walking off a cliff! The people below think, "Oh, that fool! That idiot! He's going to hit the ground and die!"
The Fool, in contrast, is thinking the same of the people below. "How foolish those people are to underestimate their own strength, and live half-lives because of it. I'm strong enough to withstand this fall. And if I get hurt, I can withstand the injuries."
Then the Fool strolls right off the ledge, hits the deck like the Roadrunner's Wylie Coyote, gets up and walks away!
I think this is a fine approach to life. Now, I'm not endorsing foolhardiness, or needless risk-taking.
However, I do agree with the person who said, I'll have plenty of peace and quiet when I'm six feet under.
I think that a romantic jump off the cliff is a good thing.
You'll live.
Live!