The Question
Eternal
The French writer Guy de Maupassant wrote a story about a hunter, who, in the early morning hours of a winter day, shoots a duck, which falls to the ground at his feet. Above him, another bird circles, crying again and again with a heart-rending lament, flying so close as to risk death from another blast of the hunter's gun. The hunter's companion says "You have killed the duck. And the drake will not fly away." It is the dead bird's mate which flies overhead, looking down at the lifeless teal lying on the ground. It is a story of animal love, which is repeated again and again in Nature and of course in humanity, too.
Love for one's mate is a manifestation of love for one's genetic future. They are equally sacred. In some ways they are the same thing. Love for one's children, one's parents, one's relatives of every degree, for one's grandchildren and nephews and nieces, caring about the children of your race and kind, even those who will live 10,000 years hence -- these are all a manifestation of the Love of Ages, the love for those who are genetically related to us, a love that ties us to the stream of life, the sacred double helix that connects us to the beginning of Life and our unknowable destiny, which, as the tree of life has branched, has become uniquely ours and can be possessed by no other people.
Once you see the genetic connection, you will know that when you look in the eyes of those you love, you are looking at infinity. It will change you forever.
Love for one's mate is a manifestation of love for one's genetic future. They are equally sacred. In some ways they are the same thing. Love for one's children, one's parents, one's relatives of every degree, for one's grandchildren and nephews and nieces, caring about the children of your race and kind, even those who will live 10,000 years hence -- these are all a manifestation of the Love of Ages, the love for those who are genetically related to us, a love that ties us to the stream of life, the sacred double helix that connects us to the beginning of Life and our unknowable destiny, which, as the tree of life has branched, has become uniquely ours and can be possessed by no other people.
Once you see the genetic connection, you will know that when you look in the eyes of those you love, you are looking at infinity. It will change you forever.
