Two sides of a shitty coin.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson once said, “It is better to have love and lost, than to never have loved at all.” I have to say, that for the most part, I agree with him. No matter how much it hurt to have the love taken away from my life, the time I had was priceless, and I wouldn’t give it up for anything.
I miss being in a relationship but something occurred to me today: how can you miss something you’ve never had? Would it actually be better to have never been in a relationship? To never have loved? There’s nothing to pine for–just an idea romanticized by society. There isn’t actually a personal memory you long to experience again. To paraphrase another cliche, isn’t ignorance bliss?
Can you really long for the touch of a lover’s lips if you’ve never been kissed? Can you miss the security of knowing that there is someone out there thinking of and missing you if you’ve never had such a person in your life? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to disparage those who’ve never experienced love or those who’ve never been in a relationship. In fact, I may even envy you.
Unfortunately, it seems no matter which side you happen to be on, it sucks. Sure, many will agree that it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved. But what nobody ever asks is, is it worse to have loved and lost than to have never loved? It may sound like a case of simple semantics–just moving the words around. But it’s not the same. While it may be better to have loved and lost, it may also be worse. Think about it.