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Hollywood’s Love Myths, Bring unhappiness and Lifelong Pain.
Watch and enjoy movies, but don’t buy into them.
I used to believe in the myth of the one true love. I felt that there was one person out there who was meant for me and that everything would fall into place when I found them. I thought that love was supposed to be this all-consuming, passionate, and romantic experience that would make my heart race and my soul sing. I turned down young men who wanted to go out with me because they seemed boring, not knowing they were probably stable and more true than the dashing swashbucklers I was attracted to.
But there is no one person who can create an all-consuming happiness for the rest of your life. You are the only person who can develop enough self-knowledge and self-care to be happy on an everyday basis, and you are more likely to find a good partner in life if you have that inner glow of a confident, independent man or woman. Neediness can be a turnoff, and so can arrogance, but quiet self-assuredness attracts people to you.
When I was young, foolish, and idealistic, I watched Bridges of Madison County and cried my eyes out. I felt so intensely for Francesca, the lonely housewife who falls in love with a traveling photographer, Robert. I felt her pain and her longing, and I rooted for her to leave her life behind and run away with Robert to…