The dangers of playing Cupid…

Eros was a Greek God that was blinded by his love for the goddess Athena. Better known as Cupid, son of Aphrodite, Eros’s fate was of ironic tragedy. We associate Cupid as the cute, blindfolded cherubim with arrows that join the oddest couples together. However… for any of you that have studied Greek mythology, the sad truth of his fate is far from the commercialised Valentine’s Day story…

Eros was madly in love with Athena. Athena being one of the most beautiful goddesses in the realm, it wasn’t difficult to understand why so many men fell at her feet. Aphrodite, who was considered the goddess of love was extremely jealous of Athena’s beauty and believed that her physical features are all the held her son’s heart to her. It was the evening that Zeus complimented Athena’s beauty in front of all the Gods that Aphrodite lost control. She was so angry that she blinded her son believing that he would stop loving what he couldn’t see…
Love is blind and even as Eros was, his heart kept loving Athena. She however didn’t reciprocate that love and his tragic heritage was of mending other people’s hearts whilst his stayed broken…

Gee, I wonder why they don’t normally mention this story around Valentines day…???

I personally enjoy playing Cupid… there’s nothing more entertaining than watching that toxic drug change a person’s face and reactions to ones that we would normally call… stupid! It’s the metamorphosis of two intelligent human beings turning into hormonally challenged, lovesick puppies… Maybe it’s the psychologist in me that takes up on Cupid’s job… or maybe I just enjoy watching people making fools of themselves, However, there’s no doubt that when two people are in love, the world somehow becomes a better place… that leaves me a happier woman.

As much fun I have with the job, I must confess that the “curse of cupid” was something I welcomed after visiting the heartbreak hotel more than once. I figured that being young and intelligent as I am, the last thing I needed was someone messing with the independence that I’ve worked hard to obtain. The more independence I gain, the less I want someone in my life. It just does not appeal to me, to have to organise my life around somebody else’s will!

No, I do not want to explain my every move, my every thought, my every word. I want the freedom to stand up and go at anytime I want to. To talk to whomever I chose, to express my mind, to have an opinion that is mine alone and to dance… yes… I will dance how I chose, with whom I chose and it won’t mean that I want to go home with them afterwards! It cheeses me off that people take each other for granted once things become serious… who set these rules? Why do people suddenly see the other person as property once they’ve given their hearts and souls? It is true that I’ve been found guilty of giving and loving too much…but if I do so, it is because I choose so... because it comes out my heart and not because it is my duty, or because it is expected of me! Maybe I’m just too independent but I’ve reached a point where I simply don’t see myself sharing my space with anybody else…

Concluding all of that, I have no trouble with Cupid’s job… just because I don’t want to put up with a man doesn’t mean other women don’t… This doesn’t mean I’m a feminist, nor does it mean that I don’t believe in love… it just means that so far, I haven’t met a man that can fit my scenario… this doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist, it just means that I don’t hold onto false expectations…

Why do people find it harder to get together these days? Back in the ages of World War II where soldiers went to war and came back, love somehow seemed to survive through the time of absence and right through the “I do” to the “Until death do us part”. What did they have then that we don’t have now? Well.. it’s debatable I guess, but what I seem to find, is that people aren’t willing to admit their feelings anymore. We’ve become big sentimental cowards! They can’t put to words what sounds “cheesy” to them… they forgot how to listen to their hearts… Cupid can’t put two people together that aren’t meant to be so… love is the only chemical in the world with that power. However, Cupid gives love a chance by helping the person express what their heart feels…

This week, I helped more than one person take a look in the mirror and come to terms with what they felt. I helped them find the words to describe their illness and courage to express them to the source of their confusion. Some hopes were shattered, others are glorified with the results… all agreed though that whatever conclusion they came to, anything was better than to keep inside a “feeling” that you don’t know what to do with and don’t know what it might become… it’s a feeling that shouldn’t be suppressed. And if you keep it inside without giving it the chance, you are left with regret, doubts of “if” “perhaps” or “maybe”

Although I welcome my independence… this week, Cupid’s curse weighed just a little on my shoulder. I forgot how good it is to look someone in the eyes and tell them that you love them. To feel vulnerable in the face of sincere feelings. To feel the world stop turning and time grow still in a moment of bliss. I miss being there for someone and hold them in my arms when they need my strength… I miss subsiding to my insecurities and doubts and allow someone else to love and comfort me for a change…

Those who have it, don’t appreciate it. Those who don’t, long for it…

Don’t get all excited boys, this girl won’t give in to a moment of weakness… I’ll still be playing Cupid instead of playing his victim for a long time to come…
What I do appeal to all of you is to mark February 14th on your calendar with a big round red heart. This year forget about its commercial value and spend it with somebody special… Look someone in the eyes and tell them you love them… And feel it, deep down in your hearts.