Why Descartes was incomplete

"I think, therefore I am" - That famous saying is not complete.

It should be "I think, I feel and I love, therefore I am".

I am increasingly a believer in love, that without this beautiful ideal, we would not reach the heights of our human potential. I am not saying that one cannot live without love, the reality is that one can and it is a choice to be respected. However, love is a splendour through which beauty could be created and expressed. After 'travelling' for a while, relieved of the fast paced routine of city life, I now understand the beauty of flowers, trees and plants that belong to no one. I feel the gentleness in spirit that they inspire. I could now understand why there are people who fight for animal rights, and for the environment. They see something beautiful and they are willing to fight to protect what they believe in. I finally understood what the Little Prince felt for his flower. It surprised me that I feel very strongly for some unnamed flowers that bloom so beautifully for a few days a year. I also notice those that just exist by the roadside, in most overlooked places, unadored and unprized by the society who is not taught to see their unobtrusive beauty.

It is beyond sad to see how the environment is being compromised in the name of progress. That things and relationships that are of no immediate value and pricing are chucked away. It is tragic that the wilderness is the only sanctuary where animals could live (almost) freely. The way man live is so destructive that the only way an animal can survive is to either become our food, pet or entertainment. We are only interested to maintaining our self interest, more of me, more for me and my children. A large part of me really hate this, the selfishness that drive humans to excel at any cost. It is like I am so determined to walk to a ultimate destination that I am willing to pay the price. The end goal is so precious that I do not mind losing my toes in walking there, some fingers. I wonder if there is a point in reaching this destination and not being whole, ie losing a part of yourself along the way? There are many ways to live and to survive, it is really a gift to be living but I am also aware that some other live and people have to be compromised for the modern life I know to flourish.

Which brings my back to love. How do I love?

Many people want love to stay forever but this is really not possible because love is not a security. Love is a living thing, it grows and it dies. Love is not a bond that pays out regular income where one gets a large payout at the end.
Love is more like an equity. You stand to lose if the enterprise goes bankrupt, or you stand to reap the benefits if the enterprise grows, expands, reaches maturity and pays regular dividend. Sometimes there are good times, and the stock price trades at a higher PE. Sometimes, times are just bad, the cash flows are unbalanced, and there are new business threats. Sometimes the whole business just gets outmoded because times have changed. This is ok because there is no rule that says an equity have to be a perpetuity.
Even if I am in love with a stock, I do not need to hold it forever.
Many people buy stock or bond looking for profit or security without understanding what either is. Many people sell stock and bond without truly understanding the risks involved.
A bond cannot be an equity and an equity cannot be a bond. It has been designed them this way.
A hybrid, is just something in between and is not relevant to this conversation.

I am aware that this is not a very good way to portray love, to compare it with the crassness of money, but in a society that values love, scarcity of time, investment, permanence, security, ego, there is an uncanny corollary to the way we view human effort and endeavour that may not necessarily pay off down the road. I must say that I cannot understand why there are so many experts on finance and love out there. I am not saying that both subjects are easy, but honestly, they are not very complicated.

The truth is, I have made many mistakes in love and in investments. And I write and express this based on my knowledge, observation and understanding, in the words that I know how to.  The good news is that both money and love could be re cultivated. Many losses could be refound if we can rediscover ourselves. IF we believe. WHEN we believe.

I used to wonder a lot about Leanne Rimes' How Do I Live? Actually it is possible to live. But the question is How Do I Love ? How do we continue loving after our love is dead, how do we say goodbye to one's love ? How to I regenerate my love tank or do I draw manna from the deepest point of my soul well ? On some dark days, I struggle to believe and I question the wisdom in telling myself and my friends that I believe in something larger out there, that may not necessarily pay off in the ongoing sums in life. That all may be lost in vain and oblivion.

Thinking does not bring us any where the point of self actualisation. Thinking does not stop the pain. Thinking alone does not regenerate love. I found love by systemic elimination of other things that do no work in my life. I sense its healing and transformative power. And I am willing to put aside my selfish interests because I see other beauties that are larger than my life. I think I am a better person because I do not just think. I feel too, and the feelings lead me back to love, this beautiful language that unities, creates and nourishes people and soul. And I know that I have to make decisions based on what I believe, based on what I love. And this is the basis for the 'AM' in me.