Masterpiece of shit
Today’s grand topic is fidelity. And what we know and understand about it. The trouble with this word, however, is we tend to associate it to marriage when in reality, it can apply to almost everything that can fall into the deep well called human relationship. Without a healthy dose of loyalty, the unwritten social contract begins to lose its sheen.
I’ve been thinking about this for a while, mainly because my principles somehow manage to remain rich. They aren’t exactly straightforward though. In my day-to-day conduct, be it in personal or professional sphere, respect reigns supreme. In case I don’t respect you, all streams of communication between us will eventually dry up. With this aspect in mind, fidelity plays a huge role in the maintenance of the much-needed equilibrium. I ought to respect your views even if I don’t agree with you. Believe it or not, it’s entirely possible to share a cordial time with somebody who is polar opposite to your beliefs. A scenario impossible to sustain if respect is sorely missing. Respect will eventually lead to loyalty as I ought to be faithful to you and your confidence in our relationship.
Turns out these are imaginary confettis required to lubricate the essence of being.
People tend to distrust and betray each other, if not in action, then in thoughts. One doesn’t need to witness the manifestation of these acts to fully understand our precarious nature. We flip all the time. Just that we don’t notice it unless someone else categorically points it out to us. Speaking of which, I wonder who pointed it out to Stephen Hawking his misdemeanors and that too to such a faithful wife. Long story short, his marital legacy is as shocking as his scientific breakthroughs. A man who successfully cheated death for over 5 decades ended up cheating on his wife is worth a case study in itself. Even being permanently bound to a wheelchair didn’t stop him from his extramarital pursuits. When I first learned of his infidelity, I was wondering “How did he do that?” instead of “How can he do that?”
Watch the Oscar-winning The Theory of Everything (2014) to steal a peek into the complex dynamics of the abovementioned relationship. This movie scored 78% (average) on Rotten Tomatoes.
Which brings us to my second favourite vegetable. I recently learned from my wife that there is no need to reject slightly damaged tomatoes at retail shops or even supermarkets. According to her, choosing vegetables doesn’t have to be like a beauty pageant. A tiny squish here and there neither changes the dish you’re planning to prepare with them nor makes any difference to its overall shelf life as you’re going to use refrigerator anyway. Her theory is that by rejecting agricultural produce for the minorest of damage, we are massively contributing to the overall global food wastage. According to one study, between 35% to 40% of all agricultural produce on this planet goes to waste. Absolutely criminal. The least we can do is embrace tomatoes for who they are, not who they could have been. As long as they aren’t rotten, of course.
Sorry, I digress again.
Since we are discussing fidelity, let’s expand our horizons and comprise all beings — humans, tomatoes, mangoes, dogs, etc — to gauge human nature better.
Once you build a warm relationship with a dog, sooner or later, he will lick your face. That’s their way of showing affection and gratitude. Words don’t enjoy prominence in this bond as they are perfectly fine with our silence. If you think your dog responds to the stupid human name you’ve given her, you have no idea how sound waves work. Regardless, dogs have been with our species for over 15,000 years now and this bond we share with them is indeed special. They’ve known us from the era we didn’t do agriculture to an era we can’t do without agriculture. No other animal, including cats and horses, would compete with our canines. That said, if you kiss a dog’s head, he will look up at you with those unforgivingly innocent eyes as if to ask you a very genuine question: “Can you kiss me in some other language?”
What is missing in this intriguing relationship is the knowledge of fidelity. Your pet remains faithful to you because he doesn’t know how else to be. His favourite human doesn’t change with time. The question is, why does he remain your favourite non-human? Or better still, for how long? How many years after he’s dead and gone? Is it safe to say that he was fidel to you throughout your lifetime while you couldn’t possibly be so because of the enormous difference of lifespans?
As you can note, a strange dilemma arises from these uncomfortable questions. Why? Because it leads to that road called ignorance. Usually, dilemma is an aftermath of knowledge but now that we don’t have any control over the life of a tinier being, the resulting relationship tilts towards ignorance. The dark zone of the unknown. Yes, love is there but with a premature expiry date.
Sucks, no?
If only the dogs knew how to hide their love for us as well as they know how to hide their shit.
