Love And Marriage

A friend of mine once told me a slight variation of this story. It is about Plato's exploration of the concepts of love and marriage. Makes one think about how much we expect and how much we should expect from love. Here's the story:


One day, Plato asked his teacher, "What is love? How can I find it?"

His teacher answered, "There is a vast wheat field in front. Walk forward without turning back, and pick only one stalk. If you find the most magnificent stalk, then you have found love." Plato walked forward, and before long, he returned with empty hands, having picked nothing.

His teacher asked, "Why did you not pick any stalk?"

Plato answered, "Because I could only pick once, and yet I could not turn back. I did find the most magnificent stalk, but did not know if there were any better ones ahead, so I did not pick it. As I walked further, the stalks that I saw were not as good as the earlier one, so I did not pick any in the end. His teacher then said, "And that is love."

On another day, Plato asked his teacher, "What is marriage? How can I find it?"

His teacher answered, "There is a thriving forest in front. Walk forward without turning back, and chop down only one tree. If you find the tallest tree, then you have found marriage".

Plato walked forward, and before long, He returned with a tree. The tree was not bad, but it was not tall either. It was only an ordinary tree, not the best but just a good tree. His teacher asked, "Why did you chop down such an ordinary tree?"

Plato answered, "Because of my previous experience. I had walked through the field, but returned with empty hands. This time, I saw this tree, and I felt that it was the first good tree that I saw, so I chopped it down and brought it back. I did not want to miss the opportunity."

His teacher then said, "And that is marriage. You see son… love is the most beautiful thing to happen to a person, it's an opportunity but you don’t realize its worth when you have it but only when it's gone like the field of stalks. Marriage, like the tree you chopped, it’s a compromise; you pick the first best thing you see and learn to live a happy life with it."