by Gerald Drueppel

Created on: August 05, 2009

Raponzal Requested

To get a better understanding of such behavior we need to go back to the days when chivalry still lived. Those who practiced such conduct did so by code while bound by honor. Rescue and protect became the order of the day in an Age of Darkness where you couldn't swing a morning star without hitting some distressed damsel. I don't see it as a sign of weakness or being a glutton for punishment. It is a mechanism of the instinct for survival. It is a base attempt to alleviate suffering and to assist in quelling uncertainty.

So try not to think of it as some social anomaly. Try not to criticize the situation too harshly no matter what your degree of involvement. Whether you are the concerned friend or the observant passer-by keep in mind that beyond the facade of dysfunction. Along the lonely road of nonreciprocating affection is the underlying urge to help one another.

Today's paradigm has complicated the simplicity of the relationship between man and woman. The result is couple after couple that after novelty fades they soon part ways in an anything but amiable fashion. The accumulative effect is a world filled with hurt individuals with trusts issues being amongst the emotional baggage tethered to the heart of the average jaded spirit. I can almost say with statistical certainty that every one of us has been hurt and find ourselves in the role of the wounded at least once in our allotted lifetime.

Time is the most precious commodity we have. Yet it is the one most taken for granted the one idled away with such frivolity that only immortals could compete with us in such blatant disregard for the sanctity of the fleeting moment. It is in that moment that we may decide to commit ourselves that that inner voice may compel us to make the inner sacred vow to rescue and protect. To find and tap that small vein of honor buried beneath layers of self-serving servitude. That from this day will be characterized by your compassion. Considered for your consideration. That you will be the one individual she can count on, no matter what.

Could you be setting yourself up to be automatically taken for granted? Is it the equivalent of giving this individual power of attorney? Aren't you in effect abandoning whatever inspired such virtue by empowering the object of your affection? Would placing her in a situation where her integrity must be tested on a daily basis fair to either of you?

If you're the passer-by, observe and maybe learn from it. If you're a friend anything you say or do won't make difference. If you're the one involved do not let your vow change your life. Don't let it be at the expense of your friends, family and future.

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