Re: Relationships and Pain (a rant)

Thank you for your response, pal.

What has always kept me going is this: When one door becomes closed, another opens somewhere. Always.

I am aware of this, and I really hope I finally get to open a door that doesn't close on me soon afterwards. When that happens, despite the fact that there is always another door, I am worried about entering the new door for fear that it will turn out like the last, especially when that has happened dozens of times in my life.

How very poignantly you portray themes of human experience and emotion that writers, artists, actors, have been inspired by for thousands of years.

Thank you for the compliment, pal. There are some people who hate my writing style (no writer can please everyone, of course) and it's always nice to hear when someone likes it instead :)

While you suggest maybe some of us exclusive peds are "lucky" in a sense -- I think that it is better to be able to experience romance, even if for a brief time, even if followed by the pain of loss. "Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all" is a cliche, but one that rings true for me.

Many people agree with that old adage, and I may have agreed with it 20 years ago. But after so many years of nothing but loss and heartache whenever I fall in love, it's really starting to get to me. To be totally honest, I really wish I had never met that woman, or at least never let her talk me into an exclusive relationship with her. Things were going well for me until I met and fell in love with her; and now that it's ended, and largely because of how it ended, I am once again feeling extremely depressed and betrayed regardless of how much I adored her attentions while I was still receiving them.

I'm an atheist, but not at all offended by your mention of higher powers and fate. I take the pragmatic view that any belief (one which guides a person's feelings and helps him or her understand and relate to deep and fundamental questions at the center of human experience) can be a good thing.

I thank you for this. You are unlike the great majority of atheists I have met, who tend to throw a hissy fit whenever anyone mentions anything remotely connected to what they call "mysticism." And I'm glad you seem to recognize that science doesn't currently hold all the answers to everything, which is why many people turn to religion and/or spirituality for answers to questions that science cannot yet explain.

Thank you again for the support!