Little Red-Haired Girls

As a young kid, I enjoyed reading Peanuts strips for their humor, awesome drawings, and Snoopy's crazy antics. One of the strongest themes that struck me from the series was the amount of unrequited romance between all sorts of characters; Lucy and Schroeder, Sally and Linus, and of course, Charlie Brown and the little red-haired girl. Of all, arguably, it is the latter that is the most soulful and the one that hits us all home, for we've all been like Charles Schultz, and therefore like Charlie Brown trying to share his lunch with some dream wandering off into the distance.

To be clinical, romance is just a form of emotional attachment; just a form of 'bonding' between people for some biological imperative that perhaps we are now too deluded to fully understand or even acknowledge. Maybe as a species, it was somehow determined that if love brings parents together into a nurturing environment for their offspring, then it would only produce children who are well-cared for and therefore successful. From that sprung a fountain of which love was born, some immutable bond by design meant to ensure survival and maximize the chances for our children and our children's children. Too bad that the creation of love was a Pandora's Box for all sorts of possibly unintended consequences; jealousy, hatred, divorce, protective custody, and foster homes. I sometimes wonder that if whoever shapes the hands of evolution were to see this havoc, what feelings would emerge.

But yet, what a Pandora's Box it was. With love came compassion and not just the rather moralistic high ground of pure altruism (which, by the way, I fully endorse and believe in) but the muddy areas of trampled wild flowers and fulfillment. Elation then, was next and all of the rush and the adrenaline and the excitement, and contentment followed; not just any contentment, but the real form of peace one has with the moment (notably, usually attained after years of meditation). There are times when even I wonder if the benefits of the existence of love outweigh the massive list of detriments, the long-term consequences, and the breaking of so many Charlie Brown hearts.

Yet, perhaps what love is at heart (pun!), intended or unintended, is a purpose. We live for love because it ties into every aspect of our lives, be it our children's children, our own fulfillment, or some other unfathomnable reason. It is a drive, a crucial mental rule and a fail-safe that prevents us as a species from annihlating ourselves. Perhaps when evolution occured within our then-primitive brains, the idea that our burgeoning intellect could only lead to our destruction was realized by the powers that be, and in turn, we grew the capacity to love. Sure, it might have killed many of us either through the guns of jealous lovers or the resulting mental depression of doom, but it has saved us too; love for one another preventing too many atomic bombs from being launched, preventing us from turning into male lions ripping apart competitors, preventing us from going through sometimes with the most dastardly of deeds.

Perhaps with this understanding, we might even one day overcome love's darker shades, and see only for the benefits it has given us. Consider that the next time you sit beside your little red-haired girl (or guy), and in turn, be grateful for what they have given you, even from just a moment's glance to an entire lifetime.

Grudgingly, I suppose I must do the same.

Today started rainy, but has progressed to a 'passable' sunlit day. However, I am still lazy.

Cheers.