Thursday, December 25, 2003

Today during a brief Christmas dinner, one cousin made a revelation. He admitted that his relationship with his long-time gf is patchy, and that he envies me for my swinging single life currently. I remembered they got together around the same time when I entered into my previous relationship. That means they are together for 5 years already. The conversation then turned to marriage and how do we know that the person is the "right" person.

Somewhat a thought provoking topic during dinner.

Are modern-day romantic relationships so complex and perplexing? Is there really a character out there who is the "right" one for us? Is the thought of searching for your other half a romantic myth? Or do we all just have our heads stuck in the notions of romance that we are all chasing for a hope that will not come true? And our expectations of relationships are all marred by the visions of romance sprinkled by Hollywood?

Perhaps there are 2 accepted schools of thoughts out there in today's society. One would be the hopeless romantic who believes in soul mates and that our other half is also out there searching for us. The second would be the souls who diss any notions of romance and prefers to stick by the safer thought of companionship; that it is already considered lucky if we are able to locate someone who would pledge to spend the rest of their lives with you, soul mates or not.

Which school of thought do you belong to?

Which school of thought do I belong to?

Afterall people's thinking do change as they undergo different life experiences. Does age influence the way people view modern-day relationships? I like to believe that somewhere out there, there is someone who understands my thoughts and emotions. It gives me hopes of romance, contentment and "happily every after". But likewise, I'm also aware that there may be a chance that our paths may never cross just like 2 parallel lines. How does one balance between such 2 different understanding in one body and mind?

There are many people who will catch your eye in life. However there will only be a few that will catch your heart. Can we use the "first-come-first-serve" theory in settling for a mate then? Or do we hold our guts out and wait for the one who will catch your heart and not settle for second-best? In the meantime, can one bear the pressure of the singlehood? Failing which, will one turn bitter when they then change their mind and decide that their personal belief in relationship is actually just a facade painted by movies and dramas?

Perhaps we should all seriously think through our expectations of our lives and what sort of relationship we expect to have in this lifetime. Make a choice of either being a irrational romantic or pragmatic companion.

At least we would all know our dreams and pursue in the right direction, rather than heading off in the wrong direction right from the start.

Stick with it and do not look back. Perhaps this is the best advice I can give to myself.