So, one day, say I’m going down a street and all of a sudden
a car catches my eye. I’d instinctively take a second glance and say something
along the lines of “wow, that car is amazing, I’d like to own it”. My reaction
is much the same as if a girl of my taste walks past me. I’d take a second
glance, and - because I’m not a degenerate - instead of blurting out loud some
stupid remark and making an ass of myself, I’d think to myself “wow, she’s
really pretty, I’d like to get to know her”. The next stages are even more similar.
With the car, I’d go to the respective dealership and familiarize myself with
the car, sit in it, and acquaint myself with as much as possible, much like
meeting the girl I visually liked. I’d talk to her and get a general feel of
who she is, and, within a short period of time, I’d know if the interest in a
second get together was there. Similarly
with the car, odds are I couldn’t take in enough about it from my first
checking of it, so I’d come in a second time and make sure everything that I
liked the first time still appealed to me, and hopefully, I’d find even more to
like. If so, I’d fall in love with it and purchase it. Now, I’m not saying that
I fall in love after seeing a girl twice. No. Unless she is godsend, it doesn’t
happen that way. With a girl the process takes longer, but the similarities
with how the process unfolds between the two are undeniably present. Two people
meet, and if they keep finding things that they like about each other minus a
few hiccups, the bond increases and they end up in a relationship.
For the first several months, everything is great. I'm enamored with the car. With every passing day I find something that I admire about it even
more. After the following few months and many daily commutes later, I still love it. But now the conscious daily recognition of it is no longer there. If I stop and think about it, I’m sure it’s the best
still and can justify my purchase of it. However, it does take me a moment or
two to come up with what it is exactly that’s so great about it, contrary to
when I was first buying it. Back then, the positive remarks came effortlessly
and almost subconsciously. The love for it was fresh. However, like with everything
else, people start to take things for granted. It’s not anyone’s fault. That’s
just how it works. Daily exposure to something makes a person so used to it
that the excitement over the things he once lost sleep about, become ordinary
due to familiarity. Stepping on the gas pedal results in the same experience
you felt thousands of times before in that car. Turn the wheel, and the result is so
predictable that you can almost close your eyes and know exactly how much you’re
turning. This is exactly what happens in relationships. The girl’s laugh is no
longer a trigger for a smile. You’ve heard it so many times that your ears are
neutral to it. Her looks may no longer make your eyes sparkle with as much love
because you already know exactly what she looks like, smells like, and feels
like.
So, what often happens? The love affair dissipates between
both car and girl. A lot of times, irreversibly. Just the other day I was
driving and got an overwhelming urge to turn into the next dealership and see
what my options were. Lo and behold, inside the showroom was a lime green Ford
Fiesta ST, and at that moment, it looked better than my car, and even though I hadn’t
even driven it yet, it sounded and drove better in my mind, and this was just 8
months into my BRZ ownership. Maybe one day you’ll get in an argument with your
girl and you’ll leave and go out to a bar, and that night you’ll see someone
who, because you’re taking your girl for granted, looks better and seems like a
better option for the night. The idea of a new experience overwhelms your
cognitive ability to reason properly and so you end up chatting her up and
taking her number and think about her for the next day or so, while your
partner whom you truly fell in love with is by your side, much like test
driving a new car while your own noble steed that hasn’t set a foot wrong is
sitting out in the parking lot.
When it’s true love – and that’s what it was when I got my
BRZ – I stopped and thought about what it was that caused me to fall in love
with it, and most importantly, I went and did what I loved doing with it and
the spark between the two of us was reignited. I wiggled myself in the seat mid-drive
to really refresh the feel of the seat ergonomics on my body, and guess what,
it worked! I was reminded why I loved them. I re-gripped the wheel several
times, feeling the leather and red cross-stitching and praised the molding of
the grip and size of the wheel. I threw the shifter around, noting the action
of the throw as it notched into gear ever so positively, and yelped with joy as
it all came together and allowed me to ace the back roads. The same must be
done in relationships. Revisit the great things about each other, because they
are there, and you’ll have a healthy and long lasting relationship. I didn’t cheat.
I only thought about it.
Bravo:)
ReplyDelete