Is It Really Better To Have Loved And Lost? republished with some edits

I was thinking about what a friend said regarding the Shakespeare sentiment about it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. Really? I’m not so sure. I’m not saying they’re wrong and I’m not saying they’re right. I just don’t know. I sometimes subscribe to the philosophy of ignorance is bliss. No, not stupidity is bliss, although it is for some. Ignorance can be bliss, though. Sometimes it is better to not know something ever existed than to know about it and have it hurt you. Get what I am saying? Of course there is no way to undo the whole love lost notion, but it did make me question my philosophical views on that matter.

I look back on my life and wonder if I would have rather not have known certain people than to have loved them and lost them. A few I can definitively say yes! I would rather they never have entered my life than to have loved and been hurt by them. That was simple enough. But for other people it isn’t so simple. I don’t know. I can’t say whether I would rather exist without having the experience of them. Then along with that thought is the whole changing the course of life aspect. These people played an important role in my life. If they didn’t then I wouldn’t have loved them.

Maybe it is all a matter of pre-destination. I had to know them and love them for my life to be in the spot it is today. Maybe God planned it. I will admit, if that is the case, that I don’t necessarily like the plan. But then again, He never told me I would have to.

Is it better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all? I am not sure. I have loved and lost. It wasn’t a fun ride and it kinda made me sick. Think of those amusement park rides that you thought you wanted to ride but threw up on soon after they started. That has been my love life. Do I want to go through that again? I am probably stupid to say it, but most likely. Because even though you threw up, it was fun before that point. And sometimes you wouldn’t mind getting on the ride again. Maybe this time you’ll remember not to eat all the fried food before getting on the ride that is going to spin you into oblivion.