Affection

I have been thinking about the uniquely human variety of affection lately. A single-minded focus on the matter comes to me on occasion. The salient observation which makes for a good starting point may be drawn, unbelievably, from Mr. John Cougar Mellencamp, who noted that love 'hurts so good'. In his way, he astutely observes the bittersweet duality of the emotion. Why there should be any upside to suffering is hard to say. Perhaps it has something to do with the valor and glory of combat on the battlefield which Pat Benatar has told us love is.

The big problem is of finding true love. There is a strong articulation of this proffered by singer and songwriter Warren Zevon's 'Searching For A Heart'. Regrettably, it did not gain the notoriety it deserved, perhaps because it failed to include lycanthropes rampaging through the English capitol. In any event, the song's narrator speaks of the long, restless wait for the unknown person he knows he is destined for. There's no sure thing on the horizon- no promise except that of patience on the part of the searcher.

Should one's love be found, the secondary stumbling block is that affection of a romantic persuasion may not be returned in the same nature and quantity that it is given. Those that are single and without expressed offers to consider feel it more keenly (and this is confirmed by first-hand experience), but it must undoubtedly be felt to some degree by those betrothed or promised to another. Present rates of depression and divorce appear to bear this out.

Many if not most seem to scrape up enough promising experiences to feel the hope that keeps them from inescapable despair. Thus they plod on on the strength of that hope, perhaps destined for no more than to be able to say they never gave up. This writer remains committed to and utterly confident of achieving that which is sought after. A positive outcome to the ongoing quest for love may not be explicitly announced here, but discerning readers will infer it from a probable change of tone and content (or the sudden absence of both in favor of spending time on other activities). Stay tuned for that.