Thursday, December 31, 2015

I need this for my resolution.

Imagine a man. If you're tired and not feeling up for it, just imagine an average man; with an average height, an average build, an average job, an average income, an average everything else. When you're done, put either a black top hat or a fuchsia codpiece on him. Hold that thought.

Now, imagine a woman. It doesn't really matter what she looks like, because to the man (from our little exercise before), she is the light of the world. When he sees her, no matter the circumstance, it's as if his life has just been restarted, that everything is new and full of possibilities, and the time before he saw her was just a dim muddy puddle he now can't leave quick enough. It's as if his brain has just discovered that what entered his eyes just then was not mere common light; it was Happiness and Glory herself.

So the man saw the woman, and the sight made him happy. And that was enough, for a while. But after some time, he began to yearn for something more. He knew that the sight was good, but he wanted more, and he wanted better. And he had a curious idea about what "better" meant: he wished to see her smile. For in his mind's eye, she would look better with a smile than without.

At this point, maybe he should have asked himself, why did he want her to smile, and smile for him to see? He probably would have answered that her smile indicates her happiness, and he would be content with this altruistic desire. But of course, it might just as well have been simple addiction to beauty, starting to show that one trait that any addiction has, which is, over time, to want more and more and more.

All this is moot, though, because he did not in fact ask himself any question. He just took the idea that he wanted to see her smile and used it to make a plan of action. He did many things that he thought would make her smile. He did everything he thought she would want. He tried, in short, to make her happy and, consequently, smile.

Did it work? Did she smile? If she did, did he see?

***

But before we can answer that, we must realise one thing first: she is not a machine, simple and predictable. She, like the man, has eyes that see and a mind that discerns. She has desires of her own. And she has the ability, perhaps even responsibility, to decide what she does.

***

Now, it's your turn. Answer me, if you will.

After she had seen what he had done, with the obvious goal in mind, what now? Should she smile? Should she let him see?




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But what about that silly, silly top hat? Or codpiece?

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