11 March,2010 09:34 AM IST | | Nida Mahmood
The time for it may seem to be over, but is there, really, any time for love? It is the most liberating feeling. It is energy, not a substance. It is essence, not matter. You can't contain it; you can't put it in a box, but you can feel it, taste it, and know it. Its presence is unmistakable. It is exquisite and profound. And when you are in love, nobody, not your best friend, your parents, or even your own mind can talk you out of it.
Love has always meant the same and at the same time it is ever changing. We lead complex lives today and when I say the connotation of love is ever changing, it cannot be truer than it is now. The future of love (and if I may alter it with a more realistic word -- 'relationships'), is moving us towards the vaulting awareness of who we really are as human beings, something we have managed to avoid for a very long time by being so thoroughly committed to conventionu2026 This is the future of love -- vast love, love beyond boundaries, love without preconceptions and judgements, love without outdated myths -- love that can actually be experienced.
In the quest of experiencing this love, we find ourselves in the midst of various kinds of relationships.
Relationships are the endless interplay of this vast energy of love and all that occurs in our daily human lives.
As we go through this process, we discover a number of new ideas: in today's fast moving canvas of emotions, our relationships have taken different forms, more than we ever imagined; they serve different purposes; and they require different offerings from us.
We are in the midst of a sea change, in which not only are many traditional relationships changing, but unexpected new arrangements are beginning to appear; gay marriages are surfacing, step-families abound, live-in relationships are just another thing, and many people are consciously choosing to live alone.u00a0
I feel this is a sign of changing times and these transformations were bound to happen; if you want to step into the real world, we need to accept that these changes represent the true face of changing perspectives. In the past, conventional relationships were often destroyed by over emphasising the nuts and bolts of psychology, on working to achieve the unattainable 'perfect relationship' while ignoring our most vital selves -- our souls. Today, more than ever, we need soul searching amidst all the complexities of life. The future of love seems to be pointing towards turning down the outdated conventions to bring us a new, fuller and elevated understanding of love.
