The Great Gatsby & the Opposite of Love
What Fitzgerald Teaches Us About Fear
The Project: Submerge myself in humanity’s best art in the form of the 100 Best Novels, Albums, and Movies. The Great Gatsby is #2 on the list of the 100 Best Novels of all time.
The Results: Improved mood, less fear and anxiety, a new career as a writer, and the strongest faith in humanity I’ve ever had (yes, even during these times.)
Like many of us, I read this years ago in high school or college. I remember it as a story about love, a tragedy of a lost love. Goodness no. This time around, I was struck by everything in this novel being the opposite of love.
What is the opposite of love? The thesaurus says the answer is hate. Then there’s the famous quote, “the opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference”, which we can easily identify with. The truth is that the opposite of love is actually fear.
Fear of failure. Fear of what people will think of me. Fear that I will look stupid. Fear of the unknown. Fear of revealing myself, of exposing my true self. Fear of rejection. Fear that I am not worthy. Every human on the planet feels these fears from time to time. But when fear kicks into overdrive, it blocks you from all kinds of love.
