Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a raging flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If one offered for love
all the wealth of one’s house,
it would be utterly scorned.
~ Song of Solomon 8:6-7 (NRSV) ~
Yeah love is great. ..
This passage always makes me think of love as something to be both envied and feared. I suppose anything that simultaneously inspires both desire and terror is a ‘Great’ thing. But often… ‘Great’ is not so great.
Very true, opening up your heart is both great and awful depending on the outcome.
This gave me a similar perspective. It verified my view of love when it is a dutiful act purposely done out of respect for love itself with no immediate or self serving reasons. You know, when it just fucking hurts and there is just no other way to act because every other way would be an act of disrespecting love itself; and there’s no way you are going to do that because it would diminish eveerything. : ) Ya think this hit a nerve?? Hmmm? Somehow though, there is always some deep spiritual reassurance to me when I can relate to words that are centuries old whilst still poignant and accurate to present life. Thank you for sharing this Mrs Fever. It touched a nerve but It actually was very comforting. Who knew I was a literary masochist?!
There is a form of comfort that comes from the knowledge that millions of people have experienced love ~ this kind of love ~ for centuries before us, and I suppose there is – vice versa – a certain kind of hope that arises from the knowledge that millions will experience it for centuries to come.
Thou shalt not want? No, No, No… Love is something we are all searching for. Even Solomon with his harem of 1,000 women was looking for love and I guess He never found it. One of the strongest desires in the world is to love and be loved in return.
Solomon was many things… But a romantic? I’m not so sure about that. He sought power and wisdom, and in his day made alliances and grew his kingdom. He may have been a lover, in a hedonistic sort of way (a thousand women – OY!), but was he seeking love? Ehhhhh…
It’s a nice thought though. 😉
To love, and to be loved in return, is a universal human need. How you love, and how you need to be loved in return… Those particular variables are not so universal. The book The Five Love Languages, is based around that concept. Have you read it?
Five love languages? No, can’t say that I have read it 🙁 I have enough trouble with one love language….Hahahaha…. OK, Sounds like a book I need to read. Thanks Mrs. Fever 🙂
It’s a fairly insightful concept, and the languages are applicable to all types of relationships – not just romantic ones.
Let me know if you decide to check it out; I always enjoy a good book discussion. 🙂
I just picked up the 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman this afternoon. I guess it was a #1 New York Times best seller. Looks like an interesting book, Thanks 🙂
Song of Solomon is probably the least read book Christians read. The History Channel had it’s Sex in the Bible series that focused mainly on it. Some of the early sects were like the Zarathustrans and didn’t believe in sex even for procreation. That might be why you don’t hear a lot about them. I think the Shakers shared that belief.
But opening up has the risk of being hurt, the possibility of finding love, and the excitement of the risk. People don’t often focus on the adrenaline rush aspects but excitement is usually risk.
There are some weird passages (wishing they’d nursed from the same mother?) in Song of Solomon, and it’s mostly about “Solomon is awesome”, but it’s pretty much the only book in the bible that addresses sex (or sexy-ness) directly.
I’m not easily excitable, and when it comes to NRE type stuff, I exercise caution. I’m not an emotional thinker. So when I get that adrenaline rush, I stop and examine what I’m feeling – and *why* I’m feeling it – because endorphin highs cannot be trusted, and I have to live with myself (and the consequences) when I come back down.
A favorite piece of Old Testament poetry. The whole Song of Solomon was mystic, esoteric, and just lovely.