Limelight

Relationships are funny things, especially when you consider the roles that each individual plays within the set, and where they stand with each other, presented to world, much like a stage, when there is only one spotlight shining smack bang in the centre of a room surrounded and filled with an audience of friends, lovers, relatives and acquaintances...all wondering who’s performance to look forward to, and exactly which one should be nominated the award for supporting the other the most. You see, unlike theatre and film, in a relationship the real rewards never go to the lead...no...the Oscar goes to the best supporting actor, who’s efforts and performance always outshines the lead, through his/her wisdom, kindness, gentility, perseverance, love and motivation, sustaining the relationship. Although this is how society has come to create the idea of a relationship, and has designed prerequisites for the process of loving...this is simply not the way things were meant to be reviewed, assessed, critiqued or rated at all. No, the best relationships are the ones that are balanced, the ones that know how to give and take, the ones who know how to share the spot in the room, both taking centre stage and enveloping themselves in the grace of the limelight.

Look at the moon did the sun. You see, the two great orbs that hover in the heavens above us, both have a simple, yet misguided understanding, both of them telling us the story of a relationship that will never ever be able to work well. The sun in all its radiance, glorifies itself, by shouting to the world “behold I’m here, marvel at me”, by shining brightly, filling the solar system with an enormous flare of light, beaming hundreds and thousands of light-years away, ensuring that he is acknowledged and noticed by all the world. And so too the moon is summoned when darkness falls on the edge of the earth, to rise up and reflect the radiance of the sun, shining high above in all its splendour, surrounded by a blanket of stars, ensuring that even on the dark side of the earth, a gentle reminder that the sun, its partner of luminosity, is still sitting on his orbital throne, the leader of a relationship of light. Unfortunately, the sun, like most leaders in a relationship, cannot control the inevitable tide that turns, when it’s moon grows tired of reflecting its glory, and simply decides to eclipse the sun. Like most relationships, when this happens, both individuals that form the couple, simply vanish into what seems to be an eternal darkness, pulling the relationship into a deep and empty nothingness. And things can get even worse, when the tide turns on the moon, and the earth decides to provide a healthy distraction for the sun, and comes between the two, slowly but surely eclipsing the moon.

So a promise must be made, right from the beginning, the genesis, from the pinnacle of creation, the start of a small, yet flourishing relationship...a promise must be made. That your moon must always do its best to support and reflect the goodness, the radiance, the very life giving essence from its great and mighty sun, promising never to eclipse him. And your sun must do all that it can, and must promise to always shine bright upon its moon, creating the luminosity of the beautiful orb, vowing never to let anything coming between them, eclipsing and hiding the both of them from the world, and from themselves. Yes...although fickle, material, shallow and trivial...sometimes the thing that can save a relationship, is learning about the effect of the limelight...learning to wear it and learning to share it. So here’s to hoping you both learn to shine...