We've all been there... we think someone is cute or we go on a date or two with someone and we're super enamored and then, nothing. Well, that's at least nothing on the other person's end. You're totally all about it. Too bad that doesn't help your case. Congratulations, you now have a case of unrequited love.
I've got to thinking recently that this unrequited love is something that although we hate personally in our own lives, we sort of gravitate toward in the stories that surround us. This thought really hit me last night as I was watching (for the 20th time) the 25th Anniversary Cast of Les Miserables Concert. The character Eponine lives a life of unrequited love with Marius - she even sings the favorite song, "On My Own" and poetically describes his life, "without me, his world will go on turning, a world that's full of happiness that I have never known." Sad, but relate-able right? Often times I feel like Eponine speaks to me and the many failed what ifs I've had in my life. It feels nice to relate to someone about these things... even if the character is fictional. She gets it, and in a way gets me.
The other weekend I was able to travel to the Museum of Science and Industry to meet my folks and attend an exhibit about Charles Schultz. If you're a Peanuts fan, you know that Schultz wrote his entire comic based on unrequited love. Charlie Brown loved the little red head girl, Lucy loved Schroeder, Linus loved Sally, Peppermint Patty loved Charlie Brown... and none of the love was ever returned. Why do we find this type of love to be so endearing? Or, why is it in our own lives we drive ourselves until we're blue in the face thinking about that person who doesn't like us back, or at least doesn't reciprocate the feelings we have for them back? Is the only way to get over unrequited love is to find another person that's better than the one you're pining for? What if that person never comes along?
Could it be that we spend too much time focusing on this unrequited love and fail to focus on those relationships that truly matter? Although we do hope to partner with someone at some point, it's an energy suck to sit and pine for someone that doesn't want to be there for us. But why do we do it? We want to feel wanted. And even though our unrequited love most likely will never happen, the important piece here is simple. Hope. You better believe Charles Schultz was able to write these love stories for 50 years because his characters always had hope. And I guess a little hope never hurt anyone.
