Delving into the depths of another mind can be both interesting and adventurous. Similar minds attract while different ones mesmerise...
Quite often we find a person attractive or beautiful. But how many times do we find another person mentally stimulating? Like a good book or a movie, how many times does another leave us with thoughts to mull over, questions to answer and yet more questions to ask?
Do you wait eagerly for the next meeting of minds with someone? How often does someone excite the mind rather than just the body or emotions?
You may grow used to the sheer physical beauty of your loved one; grow out of a sexual attraction or even get used to their kindness, warmth or niceties and start taking these for granted. But there is one thing that can neither be taken for granted, nor is a trait you could get used to or grow out of. This is the stimulating power of another mind, the uncanny intricacies of the mind that attract and enrapture you.
This is the one quality that doesn't come with an expiry date.As a young girl, along with other friends, I enjoyed reading Mills & Boons, not for any sexual content as most imagine (back then they didn't even exchange a kiss till the last page), but for the witty repartee between the main characters.
The almost-always petite, fiery haired and tempestuous heroine and the tall, arrogant, dark hero with superior intellect and a silver tongue. Their exchanges would hold me enthralled and for me, these became the definition of romance.
If you were in love, you had to be able to exchange witty repartee; it became an irreplaceable stimulant in a relationship. The relationship of Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice too had acrimonious but stimulating conversations as the basis.
We are always interested in the working of an unusual mind. Those who are predictable get boring after a while. It's the minds that are able to think differently, think out of the box, come up with new, creative ideas and keep destroying to rebuild again, that are really worth interacting with.
Whenever a problem is brought up, almost everybody tries to offer quick, easy and commonplace solutions. And then there may be that one person who will think different. And come up with a solution that's unusual and pathbreaking. That's the mind that operates a notch or two deeper than others.
You may talk to many during the course of a day. And yet there may be the one whose conversation had the ability to make you sit up and take notice; the one whose thinking process and mind not just interested, but challenged you. That is the mind and the conversation that stays with you, the one that you will seek out again and again. The one you will have a mind affair with.
A mind affair that is quite different from a physical affair. Or even love or romance. Delving into the depths of another mind can be more interesting and adventurous than anything else in the world. While a similar thinking process and similar thoughts can be attractive and reassuring, what can be mesmerising is a different mind that challenges your understanding and the working of your own mind. It is not necessary that the mind you relate to would be attractive to another as well.
Criminal minds all share a common mind-set that is disturbingly different from the average mind-set. Such proclivity towards a criminal mind is evident from childhood. The very strangeness and dangerous quality of this mind holds a different type of fascination for us and we find studies, books and movies made around the study of such a mind extremely engaging.
And then there is the realm of mind games, games that highly intelligent minds play to control the minds of those lesser than themselves or those emotionally dependent on them. Such intelligent, but complicated minds can be highly dangerous and are usually associated with people who have a high IQ level. You wouldn't even realise and somebody close to you could be controlling your every thought, every action and emotion. And deriving a great satisfaction from it!
It's almost like playing a game, like posing a challenge to oneself. Such a mind often veers towards obsessive and it can be very difficult to disengage from such a person who almost takes you over mentally.
Also consider the twists and turns of the corporate mind, the ability to survive highly politicised situations and stay afloat with sheer power of mind. This can be a unique aphrodisiac when you win the games and the worst depressant when you lose some! It's a game of one upmanship. Such games can be dangerous for the uninitiated, though they are a deadly battle of survival that takes place every day, all the time, just beneath the sophisticated, smooth-seeming veneers of most organisations, at the higher levels.
The beauty of finding a person whose mind appeals to you is that he/she keeps you fully engaged and in a state of perpetual stimulation. The effect can be a highly positive one if you do not allow yourself to be completely overshadowed but rather focus on enjoying the magnificence and intricacies of such a lively interaction and taking inspiration from it to build your own mind and grow to a higher level together...
well said!!
ReplyDeleteI particularly liked the clarity in which you wrote the whole article bringing in examples from movies and books.