Change of Mind: Love

In class we watched Once before we began reading Jane Eyre. Since we've watched the movie I have purchased the soundtrack and have listened to it very often. Since I'm either listening to the music or singing it in my head, I've had a lot of time to think about the movie and its effects on me.

When we watched Once we made a list of many observations on the board. What struck me most was the ending of the movie. The guy and girl chose to go back to their significant others and lovers from the past rather than embarking on a new path with someone new. For the girl, this was logical because she had a child with the man. For the guy, played by Glen Hansard, he had love and desire left for his ex girlfriend whom he wrote his music for. So in the end they both did what was "logical".

Hopefully whomever is reading this is as dumbfounded by this as I am. Love, logical? Since when? I understand that some reading this will likely claim I know nothing of love, but be as it may, I never saw love as logical. Classics like Romeo and Juliet are full of love, passion, and rash decisions. Countless other examples in pop culture have portrayed love as reckless and far from logical.

But something about Once made it real. I felt like it was a documentary of sorts where the audience was looking in on lives unfolding. This is where my change of mind occurred. I had always thought, as many do, that love is head over heels, irrational, and overwhelming. While this holds true at times and for certain individuals, this was not the case in Once.

I think that the movie showed the viewer that sometimes what feels "right" isn't always the easy, convenient thing to do. It showed us that in reality, not everyone is heroic and courageous enough to take the leap of faith into the unknown abyss. Sometimes people make the sacrifice to go back to what is familiar rather than taking the risk of ruining everything for something new. 

I think in one sense, it's heart breaking that people can turn away from love. But I understand that and it's not that Once has so much changed my mind, but it has more so opened it. However, sad as the cowardice and caution of the human spirit may be, it's comfortable to know that even when deep emotions are stirring we still have the ability to remain logical and look out for our best interests.