Tuesday 5 December 2000

Pic of the day: Sparkling with true magic ... or pure fantasy. (Screenshot from the role playing game Daggerfall.)

Disenchanted

In the game Daggerfall, I can enchant ordinary items so they become magical. For instance boots that make you fly, or a sword that bursts into flame as it strikes an enemy. New players (including me, long ago) tend to rely too heavily on these things, which do wear out eventually. Experienced players know enough about how the game works that they can do without these extras, though of course they can be fun.

But in the real world, I don't expect such things to work at all. I don't try to enchant my walking shoes or imbue my umbrella with a spell. I'm not denying that there may exist magic and enchantments, but as far as I am concerned, no. I base my daily life on the assumption that there are no such things.

The same largely holds true for romantic love. Sure, I've read about it, and I've even roleplayed it on a MUD. But that does not mean that I think it is really real. Or such is the assumption on which I habitually act in my daily life.

***

According to available literature, falling in love is indeed like an enchantment. What was once drab and mundane is now surrounded by the glow of magic, and the laws of nature are temporarily set aside. (As is, evidently, quite often both conscience and common sense.) Buyoyed by the enchantment, feet barely even touch the ground, and the need for food and sleep is much reduced.

I don't know how much of this is hype and how much people really feel. But I know that I've grown rather jaded. This comes from being old enough to see how usually the enchantment is broken, and people live for years in a state of truce at best, abuse at worst. The ones who seem to do best is those who were friends from the outset, and have common interests and values to fall back on. I guess that makes sense - once the enchantment is dispelled, the real metal becomes visible once again.

But as for me, it is now such that I have a hard time reading or listening to someone who is in love, because at the same time I hear their bitter complaints in the future, when the dream is broken. It's like seeing someone jumping out from the second floor window crying "look at me I can fly!". It doesn't help how happy they are - it's the crash landing that fills my mind. Only with love it takes a bit longer.

Then again, I may be overly cynical these days. Write me and tell about your tried and tested True Love, and I may yet recant. :)