The Perfect Game

It's been a long damn time since I wrote here.

Whilst it wasn't for lack of trying; I find that I've struggled somewhat to retain the level of interest I once possessed in the consideration of my surroundings. I'll put that down to the complacency that follows a long recovery.

Today was different though; I experienced that wonder which so many of us seek - the "perfect game".

The "perfect game" is the type of day that you experience so infrequently that it becomes something near mythological. More than this; it's the type of day that provides a beautiful opportunity for retrospect. Those of you who have been gracious enough to read my musings and ruminations thus far will know that "change" is a force I have a great deal of reverence for. It is quite literally the embodiment of progress.

I suffered a brief relapse recently; old demons re-emerged and I found myself needing a few weeks out to work up the strength to hit back. I think I got so used to the idea that I was done with all the old issues that I fooled myself into believing I couldn't regress into old states of mind. I was wrong; we're all capable of it. More and more, I'm struck by how common this issue is; it wasn't until I looked around and really tried to see it that it made itself so apparent.

We're all so busy battling through the everyday that we don't take the time to appreciate how much shittier things could be, or have been. This time last year there wasn't a thing I was truly happy with. 12 months later I'm happy, I'm in love, and I'm the manager of a fantastic team of people I consider friends. It feels good.

To most, this might not seem like progress in the grandest of senses, but consider the things you live for. Consider your waking thoughts and the feelings that dance around your head when you crawl out of bed in the morning. Are you heading toward a day that's going to stand out? Chances are, the answer is "no". But that needn't mean the day is lost, or a waste of time. Happiness can be found everywhere if you take the time to look for it.

Today I found it in a group of friends, a beautiful woman and a pineapple. I'm looking forward to seeing where I find it next.

Platonic

I stumbled onto something today that I thought I'd share with you. As somebody who believes only in what he can see and quantify, this particular piece of writing got me thinking about the importance of our many profound connections.

A few thousand years ago, circa 380BC, Plato wrote a text entitled "Symposium" that examined the nature and origins of love. Herein he recounts a discussion that takes place between a group of prominent Greek figures, as each of them presents a speech about Eros, the embodiment of love and desire. Amongst these figures is a man named Aristophanes, a comic playwright whose presentation consists of a story about "soulmates".

Aristophanes explains that once upon a time humans were very different, and were in fact in possession of four arms, four legs, and one head with two faces. These humans were divided into three genders, born of the Sun, the Earth and the Moon. The children of the Sun essentially consisted of two men, unified as one; with their female counterparts existing as the children of the Earth. Lastly were the Androgynous; the children of the Moon (the Moon being both Sun and Earth), and these lived as both men and women at once.

According to Aristophanes, the humans had become very powerful and threatened to overthrow the Gods whom they once served. In order to avert this, Zeus split the humans in half as punishment for their treachery, and thus we were left as we are today; incomplete men and women with two arms, two legs, and one face. 

With this punishment came a deep longing in humans to once again be re-united with their "other halves". It was said that we would spend our entire lives searching for that piece of ourselves that would complete us, and that when we found that other half we would know instantly, without words, and would experience the greatest joy imaginable. Reunited with our soulmates, we would live and die in complete peace, having finally made sense of our own existence. 

Bill Watterson's "Calvin & Hobbes" - Soulmates.

It's an interesting take on things, isn't it? Naturally, I realise that this is nothing more than a story, but I can't help but be struck by the idea of it because it speaks to the primal nature of humans and the calm that is achieved when you immerse yourself completely in another person. When something as simple as their words or their voice brings you peace, it's hard to argue that they do not, in some small way, make up a part of you that you cannot sustain on your own. Whether you believe in some higher purpose or not, the look of absolute contentment in the eyes of somebody experiencing that type of love is undeniable. 

This is where things get a little conflicted for me. I'm a man of science; somebody who believes in nothing more than physical laws and the scientific method. However, I'm also somebody who has a habit of romanticising the connections we make in our lifetimes and applying a deep personal meaning to them. 

So, on which side of the fence do I fall? 

I fall on the side of the real. So whilst I don't believe in some innate connection that's with us from birth, I do believe in forged connections that can stay with us until death. A lot of my friends are currently tempering these links; many of whom will soon be married with children. If I'm going to believe in what I see, I choose to believe in them. 

With that, I wish you all the best of luck. To those of you who will spend this year building your lives together; may you prove to be the pieces that make each other whole.