“You know, when one’s in love,’ I said, ‘and things go all wrong, one’s terribly unhappy and one thinks one won’t ever get over it. But you’ll be astounded to learn what the sea will do.’

What do you mean?’ she smiled.

Well, love isn’t a good sailor and it languishes on a sea voyage. You’ll be surprised when you have the Atlantic between you and Larry to find how slight the pang is that before you sailed seemed intolerable.”
― W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor’s Edge

I remember when I read this book many years ago I was so impressed by the above extract from the book and almost believed it. Below is my attempt at a new age long distance relationship and to say that love is a good sailor. 

When we are not near each other,

and I feel like telling you how much I love you.

I stop and think,

of how many love notes I can write to you.

Every day.

Then, I see something,

read something

and I know,

that is my love note.

Pictures of things that interest me,

articles which we would have spoken about,

links of drones and photographs that you would have spoken about,

poetry I would have read out to you,

and you would have said, “You know I don’t like poetry.”

But I would have read it out anyway.

So, these are my love notes.

The links of poetry, pictures and words

Connecting us, across the ocean.

 

This afternoon I got an email about some promotion from Cavala, a hotel in Goa which I had visited 3 years ago on this date for a few days and that Goa trip was the most different kind of time I had in Goa ever. It was sane, not crazy, kind of an adventure filled with excitement and energy. So for sometime I was thinking about the trip, about the time that has passed, that I haven’t been to Goa since then and all that…

Which made me think about significance of a date. A date reminds us of important events in history and in our everyday lives.  It helps us to keep a tab on the passage of time and recognise what has changed, moved and what has not. But then there are some dates that are closer to us than the others. And their importance becomes rather significant.

We celebrate or honour or remember or acknowledge what happened on that date and for a few moments go back to that time, that event, that happening. Mostly we remember dates which change our lives in a significant way, like a milestone, without which we just wouldn’t be the same person. Those events and happenings don’t even have to be big things but significance of something is so disconnected with whether it is big or small.

When I was younger I was critical whenever I saw people who remembered dates and the events associated and gave it importance as I kept thinking, “Don’t you have better things to think about or remember.”

But as I grew older I understood that people remembering the date is a sign of their desire to step back into that time.

We move cities, countries, keep in touch, at a real and many times at a surface level with the ones associated with those dates and events. But on that date, it is nice to stop, think, smile, make a call or write a letter, email or reach out to that person to talk about random things. 🙂