The Face of Love

During this Christmas season it strikes me that many of the posts on this blog have a Grinch-like tone. Indeed, I live at odds with much that is valued in the current Zeitgeist. Thus, when I started "One Off," one of my purposes was to vent at what I consider the stupidities of the present opinion class. Thus, the "Reflections on Life, Culture, Despair, and Joy." In my eyes, reflection is lacking at the present time.

Today, however, as indicated by the title of this post, I will try to write something un-Grinch-like. Because I am Grinch-like, when I walk down the streets of Manhattan I am constantly making unreflective judgments about much that I encounter. In other words, spontaneous reactions. Quite often, these judgments are negative and pessimistic. For instance, so many fat people. So many people without any style. So many stupid conversations of adults with children. On and on it goes. And, yet, I also constantly monitor myself and my negativity. I know that I am looking at the world and the life around me via my own set of eyes. These eyes are a sensuous instrument, and other people have different eyes from mine. Regarding the same phenomena, they may not agree with what I see.

That is surely the case when one regards another person with the eyes of love. What may appear ugly or not very attractive to my eyes will manifest itself differently to a person in love with that person. Getting over our first impression of a person is the first step in moving toward the state of love. In fact, my own experience has shown that exceptionally positive initial judgments often turn out to be wrong. Love is not a matter of the eyes, but of the heart.

Photo credit: Dreaming newborn