Monday, November 16, 2015

Blissfully Unaware

Love is a powerful emotion. This power is not always positive though. Love has the ability to blind us to the facts. When we stare through those rose-colored glasses, we see what we fell in love with. We put that person on a pedestal and we develop an inability to see past this idealized perception of them. This can be the case with romantic, paternal, or platonic love.

                We have all seen and experienced this countless times. A prime example is sexual infidelity. Someone gets cheated on and a friend informs them. The victim in this circumstance either takes this information on board and confronts their partner, or goes in to instant denial.

                When confronting the partner there are a number of outcomes. The partner admits it, they are either forgiven or the relationship is terminated. The partner denies it and the victim continues to believe their friend and terminates the relationship. Or the partner denies it and the victim believes them. Love blinds them to the fact that this person may be capable of doing the wrong thing whether it is intentional or otherwise. This in turn, can damage the friendship between the victim and the messenger.

                This can happen with things like addiction, whether it be shopping, gambling, drugs, porn, internet, or anything similar. We are often willing to stay in a state of denial to protect the people we love, no matter how damaging it may be to ourselves. We may be doing in subconsciously, but turning this blind eye may not only be hurting us, it may be hurting who we think we are protecting.


                If you think someone you love has a problem and they tell you they don’t, as much as you want to believe them, there’s a reason you thought there was a problem. Blindly accepting their lies will probably not end with a desired outcome. And the lies they tell may not be coming from a malicious place, they may be coming from a place of darkness, shame, and discomfort. There are numbers you can call to get help for people suffering in silence. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

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