The past recurs in the smell of burning sugar; hints of it
linger in the sound of certain words; or it unexpectedly takes shape in the
back of a stranger’s head. Worst of all are the thoughts that form in the
silence of the night, when the truth is hardest to ignore and one’s own
culpability is undeniable. Then regret consumes me, and I feel the bitterness
rise in my throat. But, even in the worst moments, there is this consolation:
that you, too, can never forget.
Because the heart is a black box.
Every conquest, loss or rejection leaves its trace. We love
according to what the heart has been taught. We love in the shadow – sometimes
benign, sometimes malevolent – of every disappointment, betrayal or
fulfillment. We love – and no god can control the feeling or mitigate the
consequences.
This is an extract from the book The Obscure Logic of the
Heart by Priya Basil that touched me.
There is no such thing as Happily Ever After.
I read an article this morning about Photographer Dina
Goldstein who captured the imperfect world of the perfect princess and the
perfect doll. Her Barbie walks in on her cheating husband Ken, who she
discovers, is gay. Snow White’s marriage is a nightmare as she manages four
kids without help, and her Prince Charming turns out to be an out-of-work sloth
and Rapunzel has cancer, undergoes chemotherapy and loses her lovely locks.
In today’s world, our world of dark realities is far more
pertinent than a fairytale we grew up believing in. Our banal notions of
expecting too much out of a person and a relationship ends up screwing things
which we fail to realize, rather accept.
Your expectations are your own problem, no one elses.
