The Romantics

These two words conjure an image in my mind of running through fields with flowers in my hand and my beloved running after me, very much like the Bollywood films we see. In truth, I also remember the American rock band The Romantics, although they were formed way before my time. I must have been five or six when I used to hear 'What I Like About You' playing in the family room.

But that's not the romantics I am interested in. It might possibly be because I am not too open to the lofty notion of romance when it involves another; as space filled with ego and devoid of true compassion and respect, a transactional seat which requires rules and thoughts to meet the needs of another.

I am much more drawn to the romantics who see the beauty and harshness of our existence and can lay them out with such care and sensibility, the right measure of words, imagery and more than enough space for my thoughts to marinate. It is a fine dining of consciousness.

painting by Kahlil Gibran

Such pieces include Kahlil Gibran's 'The Forerunner'. Oh my! Each time O read it, I have a different thought, connection and interpretation. Or Hermann Hesse's 'Siddhartha'. What a journey of discovery and so poetic in its writing. Or 'The Bluest Eyes' by Toni Morrison. Some pages require rereading to comprehend what the writer is telling you, even though you understood the first time!

I begin to realise that the romantics are truly living, dissecting the myriad of actions, thoughts and emotions - our very existence!

These are only a few of the romantics in my life, and as I meander around the fields with flowers in my hand each plucked from the roots of life I gather as another lesson of self-discovery, I am filled with love and gratitude for the romantics in my life.

The Romantics of Higher Consciousness
Lay with me beneath the stars
Dance to the music in your heart
Be ready to peel to your core
Your skin adorns you, so pure
Drink from the cup of life
Commune with your tribe
Let's dine as intended
The romantics in you and I.

Hodan Noor