Of the Blind and the Foolish : LOVE.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV (©1984)

 It's amazing how words that are centuries old  is still found applicable in the modern day context when the world around us can no longer be judged and viewed in the light of orthodox paradigms. And love has remained and I believe forever will in the hearts of man as the 'light at the end of the tunnel' that we keep seeking in the hopes that we would one day find. Time and again, history and mythology has borne witness to the fact that the need for love indeed has the power to manipulate logic and the conscience of man. Just how Paris of Troy abducted Helen of Sparta causing a 10-year- feud between the kingdoms and Fulbert castrated Peter Abelard around the year 1100 for he believed his beloved niece Heloise was abandoned by him, many of us have become victims of foolishness due to blinded logic where love ties the blindfold.

BLINDFOLDS

Being only human, our very existence is subjected to the views and norms that society imposes. And with such a background, more often than not, one's quest for love is often obstructed, adding a pinch of salt to the very idea of happily-ever-afters. And then, there is the interesting perspective of how we humans crave for forbidden things, which seem so much more exciting than anything that comes easy. And somehow, forbidden love affairs seem to fall under the same category as well.

Growing up that involved Indian aunties and Asian believes has tried to teach me that falling in love is tabooed, arranged marriages work best and that it is important to put your family's pride, dignity and social status above your heart and believes. And due to such impositions, cases of suicides and elopement have become something that today's generation has familiarized itself to. And I can't help but stand awestruck at the fact that society would go lengths just to get things done in a manner that it finds pleasing; even against something as natural as falling in love

As cliched as this may sound, I believe that love is something that each and everyone of us have to seek in order to find. It was never the given-element, neither was it meant to be forbidden. Love, I believe is just like finance. The wisdom to manage it comes with maturity and experience, and it has to be sought by one to call it his own. The green-light to fall in love is one of the biggest gifts parents can give to their kids as falling in love can teach you many lessons that self-seeking family social statuses wont. Society has to stop portraying the innocence of love in the wrong light as it gives young people the idea that it is wrong to have feelings and desires and only the notorious follow the path of love.

Another disease that is seemingly attacking today's generation as far as love is concerned is this misconception of 'fun'. The globalized world advocates that love is meant for the older the generation and fun is the the lingo of the young. We see people getting involved in immoral activities and then justifying their acts with their youth. This corruption does not only sadden me, it revolts me. Friendship was never meant to come with benefits and love was always a game for two. There is no reason why young people should not fall in love nor is there a reason why young love cannot last. The fear of getting hurt in the course of commitment is often the reason used to make fooling around seem okay. A young boy of thirteen once told me; long ago: "Esther, no one falls in love to fall out of it and no one gets into a relationship wanting to break up. This might be your first relationship as it is mine, and it is definitely up to us to make it our last. It is up to us to fight and not give up on our believes. Falling in love has nothing to do with age but everything to do with maturity. Just because we are young, doesn't mean what we have is not real." And these are the words I am holding on to till present day. That young boy is long gone, but his word lives, resounding nothing but the truth.

OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE

To reflect on the matter as a whole, it is entirely up to us as individuals to not let ourselves to be blinded by misconceptions and lies. It is also up to us to stand up for our believes and have the courage to fall in love and most of all to see falling in love for what it really is: a divine gift to mankind. Yes, Eve's love for knowledge led to the fall of mankind when she took a bite of the Forbidden Fruit, but if only she wasn't so blind to not see the love of her Creator for her, she wouldn't have fallen for the trickery of the Serpent. And as such, it is entirely up to us to open our eyes and see love in it's true form.






P/s:  This entry is dedicated to Miss T as it was written upon her request.

HUEMAN

Talking to people has not only taught me, it has formed me and ingested into me the personality I am today. Talking to people has also helped me find myself, my place and my purpose in the society.The want and need to be different in a society that has adopted typicality as its ideology is indeed a tiresome plight that a few- like I- have chose to take upon themselves. 

I believe that the human race is made of colours and to be different is a gift. Even as a young child, I grew up as a mismatch that was more often ignored than misunderstood. I never fit in with girls and their little cliques and Barbie was never my favourite person. In fact, every Barbie I received for birthdays and Christmas made me wonder why is society socialized as such that girls like Barbie dolls. Living in a surrounding that subjected me to stereotyping bore me the label : NERD. Just because I found comfort in books and found Literature invigorating alongside History, many my age considered me weird, boring and old school. It would be a blatant lie if I said that the fact that I was very different from other children never bothered me. It did bother me, in fact it bothered me so much that there were nights when I would just lie in bed hating myself for being the odd one out.

 "With maturity, comes acceptance." -  Joshua Thevavelan

My daddy's words held a lot of truth, when I look back now. As I grew up, I began to accept myself and my differences. I knew I was meant to be different all along but somehow making peace with that fact was a thoroughly difficult process. In today's world, many are still struggling with against this Giant called SELF, failing to grow up in the process of growing old. The ability to accept has become such a rare attribute that it is almost an art that one has to learn how to master. 


Acceptance begins with one's self. It is always easier to accept others, as much as it is easier to judge others.  Self acceptance can be coined as one of the biggest struggles of the generation today, for individuality has lost its meaning resulting in a whole generation of vibrant people trying to de-colourize themselves in order to fit themselves into a bland picture known as the Social Community. The want for the acceptance of others has overpowered individualism and the need for assurance has outweighed personality; the very sad yet undeniably true status quo of the globalized world.


And at dusk, when it comes to reflecting on who I truly am as a member of the society, as a daughter, as friend, as a teacher-in-the-making, as a person, all I see is colours. I am defined by colours and justified by hue. I will not allow myself to be silenced by the screams of the world around me to lose my hue neither would I give in on this battle to celebrate the colours I am made of. Just like a peacock's  feather, I too am made of vibrant exuberance and most importantly colours. For I am only HUEMAN.

"...vibrant exuberance and most importantly, colours."