Kiss of A Rose
This is a clickbait title - gotcha if you are reading this!
So I have spent the last few weeks messing around with AI. That means reading, talking to people who get it, trying to understand it and trying anything AI driven. I created avatars of all forms (very self-centred as they were all of myself - oops!)
The images on this blog are AI created. It took me a few seconds to chat the brief to a bot, and another few seconds to get options. It then took minutes for me to choose the option I preferred and run with it. Mind boggling. I must admit I love bots, other than Siri who has the annoying habit of eavesdropping and then interrupting conversations with “I’m sorry, I did’t get you” ! They are generally so well behaved, always polite and patient even when you are not. Trust me I tested bots patience with some moderate rudeness through typing “I’m so fed up” and bots response was a gentle “I’m so sorry that you are feeling fed up. Is there anything I can do to help?’ True love right there.
I currently need to unsubscribe to all the AI Apps I signed on to within a “Free” trial period though. I am one of those people who assumes they are intelligent enough to remember to do that but alas, I don’t, and then go into a panic when I see various pings on my card charging things I cannot recall as I clearly forgot to take the advice written with every Free Trial, “You can unsubscribe at any time”!
Anyway, let me get to the point. Today is the eve of the feast of the christian martyr Saint Valentine. Exactly a year ago, I wrote about this poignant day with my thoughts on how love is a feeling. I have grown since then, I think, and this year I will take a stab at being philosophical in the hope of appearing intellectual(eye roll).
A Rose. Why would something so beautiful also have prickles? But here is the thing, even if those prickles can poke you, they are not actually thorns, the difference being a thorn is a part of a branch modified for physical defence whereas prickles are modified epidermal cells similar to skin cells in humans. Contrary to this however, wild roses do have thorns a genetic defence mechanism in response to their environment. (Ref: Assistant AI) See, did I not say I would be intellectual?
A Rose, just like love which we are told makes the world go round, is paradoxical. It is beautiful but it can also hurt you. The premise of this blog on the eve of an auspicious day set aside to celebrate love, is to try and unpack different kinds of love, and do that with a magnifying lens on the beauty not the thorns.
To share my view on love, I firstly separated human beings into four parts - Spiritual, Head (Mental), Heart and Body (physical).
Spiritual love is this affection, absorption, irrational desire to be close to a higher being that is not visible. Mental love or to to lose one’s head (although when used in isolation does not refer to affection or desire for someone) is another kind of love. Irrational probably, and can be defined as madness! To love with one’s heart alone in some ways can be like spiritual love, it’s the warm personal attachment, the deep affection. Then there is physical love or when your whole body gets consumed by the affection, or passion and desire. This on its own, can be termed as lust. The overwhelming and irresistible sexual attraction or love for anothers physical being.
What happens with any combinations of the above?
Spiritual combined with mental or heart breeds fanaticism. Mental with heart is the unconditional love we give to parents, to children, to family. It presents a deep caring. Mental with physical/body creates an intellectual attraction which fires up physical desire defined as sapiosexual attraction. Heart and body is interesting. It is liking someone and loving them all at once. It is the space for old lovers. Comfortable.
When it comes to romantic love, the jackpot is when head, heart and body combine. The explosive mix of all elements coming together, each fighting for dominance. That is what I call falling in love. Some people are blessed and manage to experience this more than once or even many times albeit with waning depth. Others experience it once in their lives, hence the oft overused term “Love of My life”.
All those relate to transfer of affection to another. This Valentines I would like to make that affection inward. Taking the spiritual, mental, heart and physical to loving who we are as ourselves. Celebrating me, myself and I. Seeing the beauty, forgetting the imperfections, and the pain. Kissing the Rose.
Happy Valentine.
