posted by Bretch Synco on Jul 7
L’affaire. That’s the name of the game today. No, it need not be sexual. Often it is just the thought of it. In fact, more often than not, it’s just the thought of having one that gets us all excited. There’s adrenaline, there’s the sneakiness, there’s the game… everything we like about life, creating a new sensation, a new thrill, and ultimately, relieving ourselves from the boredom of everyday existence.
My housemate and I were recently talking about this. She has a boyfriend but he lives in Wales. She’s friendly and is constantly meeting new people. She recently met a guy and quite liked him and even managed to sneak a kiss with him one rainy evening. She doesn’t want to do anything more because she says she still loves her man in Wales. Yet she can’t stop herself from wanting someone else. And constantly lives with the stress as every new man she meets has to pass through the clearance desk of Mr Boyfriend. She doesn’t tell him of course of the occasional kiss.
I, on the other hand, cannot manage so easily. I have always lived my life with simple rules.
If I flirt, I am usually serious about the other person and I would take the flirting to its natural conclusion. And I have managed to stay away from temptation for long. My boyfriend lives in another part of the world. And I am constantly exposed to an array of beautiful people ready to give warmth on a cold night. So I look and desire but do nothing about it. But the thought of someone new, someone different does not leave me.
So my friend and I have lengthy discussions even while we try to keep our hands warm with a cup of tea. She willing to try and I too scared to do so. She wanting to experience and I, content to sit back and watch. What we find funny is that we do not want to give up on a relationship that is working. But the excitement of something new, something different is constantly driving us crazy.
After all, we are bombarded with images constantly. Television, cinema, commercials, billboards, all with beautiful people, all falling in love, finding the man or woman of their dreams. Christmas time it gets worse. Films like Love Actually, Notting Hill, Four Weddings, Bridget Jones Diary, all romantic, often impossible stories.
End result: everywhere you look, everyone in a relationship, wanting another. Why aren’t we satisfied with what we have? Will we ever be happy with what we have? Why can’t we be content in what we have? Reality, why aren’t we willing to accept it and try and work things more to our liking in our relationships? I have no answer, but I am trying to watch more Life and cooking shows on TV. Perhaps that way I might find another subject to occupy my mind than the uncertainty of my own relationship.