Giving Love a New Meaning and Perspective

By Ibrahim M Amin

We often hear phrases like: "Love is like a chicken soup,chicken soup is heartwarming and nourishing just like love; love cannot be defined, it can only be felt; love is like a morning smile; love is when there is no time; love is the long wait for eternity; love is like a woman in one touch,etc." It's essential also looking at some of the famous sayings about love:

Ba'albaki stated that " 'Love is blind', is a proverb that first came into existence through the poetry narrated by Geoffrey Chaucer (1340? -1400). He was considered to be the most famous English playwright before the coming of William Shakespeare" (qtd. In A Modern English-Arabic Dictionary 62).

Then, After Chaucer came William Shakespeare (1564-16160) who wrote in one of his playsTwo Gentlemen of Verona (1592)

"If you love her, you cannot see her.

Why because love is blind." (Ba'albaki, "A Modern English-Arabic Dictionary 62).

What is meant here refers to the inability of a lover to discern the shortcomings in one he or she loves. In other words, lovers faintly discern each other's shortcomings. Later on, Shakespeare readjusted this meaning in another play: The Merchant of Venice (1596):

"But love is blind, and lovers cannot see.

The pretty follies that they themselves commit." (Ba'albaki, 62).

Therefore, when we say love is blind, it means lovers are unwilling or unable to understand or notice the shortcomings in each other. In other words, love that is blind is love without reason or judgement - it just happens for no any other reason. Indeed, its love that is not ruled by purpose; its thoughtless and reckless. Let's pause for a moment and ask ourselves, is love really blind in the real world?

Credit Robert Schuman, a French Statesman (1886-1963), said: "When I was young, I vowed never to marry until I found an ideal woman, well, I found her, but unfortunately, she had been waiting for a perfect man."

Undoubtedly, the heart of this honorable French man was at an "auction" waiting for the highest "bidder", after waiting for so long, he finally did find a woman whom he [wrongly] thought could be the highest "bidder". To his amazement, this woman didn't even realize his presence at the "auction", not even the "auctioneer" could be able to draw the attention of this ideal "bidder" to the Frenchman. What a pity!

Why is it that, there is a now a growing number of singles who would rather prefer to stay single and happy than give their hearts to undeserved partners who would only cause them more pain and suffering?

This brief article attempts to clarify the meaning of love and to argue that love is not blind argue that life isn't blind as was originally believed.

References:

Munir Ba'albaki, Al-Mawrid: A Modern English-Arabic Dictionary. 32nd Ed., (Beirut Dar El ilm Lil-Malayen 1998).Section on Proverbs (in Arabic), 62.

The author believes in promoting the true meaning of love to all.He believes the true meaning of love has been distorted and now taken for granted. Not only that, he also believes in spreading happiness and prosperity for all people. Irrespective of their religious,racial, social or economic backgrounds. http://lifewithoutlimits.qnetlife.net

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