Is Romance a Thing of the Past?

 

Are we settling for the “fast food” version?

What is it with young people these days? I don’t see romance between them.

When I think of romance I think of a couple walking in the park holding hands, roses given just because, dinners held by candlelight, and love letters written to show affection. Lately I don’t see these put into practice except in the fantasy world of TV, fairy tales, and other media.

When I asked a young friend, she tells me those gestures are now usually considered sweet, but corny and impractical. In fact, today romance movies are labeled as “chick-flicks” and often disregarded as unrealistic stories that could never happen in real life. Most romantic novels are now labeled as “chick-lit”.

The youth say romance still exists — just not in the way you see it on TV or in the movies. They believe the meaning of romance is defined by each individual. To some it is that thing that makes you smile because you feel appreciated- the little things in life that take your breath away. They argue that these new ideas of romance are more genuine than past ideals because they are not constructed by society.

According to spiritual teacher and mystic, Matt Kahn, we are all going to experience romance in our lifetimes in varying and incredible ways.

We don’t see couples writing each other love notes by hand. The love notes have turned into simple texts in the morning. We don’t see couples walking hand in hand in the park. Instead they are walking each other to class. Are we making our own statements of love? It’s true that love is an action word. If what you do has no originality behind it, you should ask yourself if it is really that special.

Romance has transformed over time, and the meaning of it has changed.

According to Webster’s dictionary, Romantic is defined as “an adjective that pertains to something that is fanciful; fabulous or given to sentimental or amorous feelings’.” Are we settling for the “fast food” version of love and romance? It seems the dating scene has come down to “picking up” a guy/girl for the night, nothing more, nothing less or “ordering” a guy/girl on one of the dating sites. What happened to courting, you know, the “getting to know you”? The romance.

It looks like the romance we once knew is dead. I like to think it still does exist; perhaps just slightly modified.

Romance is the fanciful experience of an ideal that centers itself in imaginational settings of shared closeness. I just don’t see the love stories portrayed in books and movies in everyday relationships. Maybe romance is anything you feel is romantic to both of you. Maybe there is no right or wrong answer.