The Old Fashioned Way of Falling in Love

How do we fall in love? Well, once upon a time the relationship and chemistry between a man and a woman were kept very sacred. Men accompanied women to dances and social affairs and women kept their hands to themselves. If a man wanted to marry a woman, he would pursue her relentlessly until he had her, and the result was that she knew he cared for her and fought for her above all other women. This combination of action and reaction on the part of men and women created a very stable environment in which to build a marriage.

Nowadays, we have a standard type of relationship that is kept as "light and casual" as possible. It is a social faux pas to talk of commitment and marriage, so we avoid the subject with as much care as possible. We have sexual relationships and live together, without so much as mentioning "I do" because of the uncomfortable situation or awkwardness that might arise. Our focus is on appearing tolerant, rather than too heavy or too deep. Are there consequences for such behavior?

A human relationship is one of the hardest things to maintain. Even if you have a god and worship them, there is a basic assumption that they always fulfill their end of the relationship. For two humans to make a go of it can be quite tricky.

In the past, courtship was the standard procedure for romance. A man pursued a woman he was interested in, as if they were to get married but with no full commitment, just an understanding. If they got along, he would ask for her hand in marriage, and if they didn't, there was no break up or seriously hurt feelings. Each person moved on to someone else. Nowadays, boyfriend-girlfriend relationships are made quite serious, and if there is a break up, plenty of emotional damage and bitterness is caused.

Perhaps we should step back in time and examine the way we fell in love in the past. The rules were not based around being tolerant or appearing open-minded, but were set in place to protect both parties, which included protection from being trashed in front of others. A man was not considered the jerk if he moved on to someone else, and a girl was not considered a skank if she had more than one admirer chasing after her. Wouldn't you like to live in that world?