To Romance Your World
“ To romance something means to get to know its rhythm “ .
Like many good things in my life, this quote came to me through my wife, who had read it in a self help book, and used it in passing in a conversation. It’s somewhat of an unusual expression which caught my attention, and after some reflection, also my imagination.
“ To romance something means to get to know its rhythm “ .
What did that mean ? Unfortunately, my wife had read the book quite some time ago, and can still not remember the name. This set me on a course of research, which still continues.
The word “ romance “ has a long history ; it was discussed vigorously by philosophers as early as Plato and poets as early as Ovid, with focus, naturally enough, most often on the relationship between a man and a woman. “ To romance “ has been defined as crudely and simply as “ to seduce “ ; to take a foolish and unrealistic interest in someone or something ; but also to love in the sense of caritas, a Christian term for altruistic love. In literature it has included buffoonery, and characters to be made fun of ; it has also included tragedy and images of the highest ideal, noble love between man and woman. In philosophy it was asked whether romantic love is possible in marriage - as for many centuries it had been thought unnecessary, in the utilitarian views of the time.
Beginning in the Middle Ages, romantic love was a theme in some of the most important works of European - and perhaps also world - literature. As it often has, art recorded an evolutionary step in the consciousness of humanity. And yet my wife’s expression “ To romance something means to get to know its rhythm “- this has a sense of something new again. It includes not just people, but things. To get to know the rhythm of something would seem to be a very intimate activity, requiring not just a delicate attention, but something of a relationship ; even a relationship of loving or caring.
What might “ to romance “ include, in this sense ?
To get to know the rhythm of something would definitely mean observation ; observation over time, meaning also activity of the memory ; and memory which would include not just the external features of something observed, but also its habits and movements :
- The opening and closing of the petals of a flower in the course of the day ; the turning of a sunflower head, following the sun
- The activities of animals in the course of the day, or their migrations in the course of the year
- The ways and habits of the people around us
Observation of a plant, animal or human being “to get to know its rhythm “ would also discern their transformations ; for instance, in the course or a year, the stages of a plant from seed to leaf, to flower, fruit and seed again.
To romance something or someone : “ to get to know the rhythm of “ a person one cares for in the familiar romantic sense ; but also anyone one cares for - a mother or father or a child, a brother or sister, a friend. What if one were to romance one enemies as best as one could ? What would be the effect if we were to “ romance “ each day of our lives ?
Goethean Science
Picture !
Meditation
“ To romance something means to get to know its rhythm “ .
Like many good things in my life, this quote came to me through my wife, who had read it in a self help book, and used it in passing in a conversation. It’s somewhat of an unusual expression which caught my attention, and after some reflection, also my imagination.
“ To romance something means to get to know its rhythm “ .
What did that mean ? Unfortunately, my wife had read the book quite some time ago, and can still not remember the name. This set me on a course of research, which still continues.
The word “ romance “ has a long history ; it was discussed vigorously by philosophers as early as Plato and poets as early as Ovid, with focus, naturally enough, most often on the relationship between a man and a woman. “ To romance “ has been defined as crudely and simply as “ to seduce “ ; to take a foolish and unrealistic interest in someone or something ; but also to love in the sense of caritas, a Christian term for altruistic love. In literature it has included buffoonery, and characters to be made fun of ; it has also included tragedy and images of the highest ideal, noble love between man and woman. In philosophy it was asked whether romantic love is possible in marriage - as for many centuries it had been thought unnecessary, in the utilitarian views of the time.
Beginning in the Middle Ages, romantic love was a theme in some of the most important works of European - and perhaps also world - literature. As it often has, art recorded an evolutionary step in the consciousness of humanity. And yet my wife’s expression “ To romance something means to get to know its rhythm “- this has a sense of something new again. It includes not just people, but things. To get to know the rhythm of something would seem to be a very intimate activity, requiring not just a delicate attention, but something of a relationship ; even a relationship of loving or caring.
What might “ to romance “ include, in this sense ?
To get to know the rhythm of something would definitely mean observation ; observation over time, meaning also activity of the memory ; and memory which would include not just the external features of something observed, but also its habits and movements :
- The opening and closing of the petals of a flower in the course of the day ; the turning of a sunflower head, following the sun
- The activities of animals in the course of the day, or their migrations in the course of the year
- The ways and habits of the people around us
Observation of a plant, animal or human being “to get to know its rhythm “ would also discern their transformations ; for instance, in the course or a year, the stages of a plant from seed to leaf, to flower, fruit and seed again.
To romance something or someone : “ to get to know the rhythm of “ a person one cares for in the familiar romantic sense ; but also anyone one cares for - a mother or father or a child, a brother or sister, a friend. What if one were to romance one enemies as best as one could ? What would be the effect if we were to “ romance “ each day of our lives ?
Goethean Science
Picture !
Meditation
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