“I hate you like I love you!”
Remember this song? They were quiet catchy lines, weren’t they? Thought I deem it should have been "LOVED" instead of "LOVE". The first time I listened to this, I remember laughing hysterically wondering how gibberish it was. It was only when I heard it for a second time that I actually thought about those lines.
Ever wondered when is that you begin to hate someone? It’s only when they do not meet your expectations or do something which you do not expect out of them. Essentially, expectation is what leads to hate. And the next question is when is it that you expect something out of a person? Its only when that person actually matters to you. One expects something only from the one they love.
Initially, when one doesn’t meet your expectation, you would be disappointed. When this ordeal continues you may be agitated or left angry. Well! If you think that anger is a primary feeling, I would beg to differ. Anger, according to me is never a primary feeling like being happy or sad. Anger arises only because of being in an unhappy state or irritated state for quite some time. Anger is the way to express the suppressed emotions. Think about it! When you are happy, you are only happy and it’s the same thing with being upset. But, it’s not the same case with anger. When you were angry and expressed it, it would never ever make you feel angrier. Based on the circumstance, it will only leave you even more disturbed or pleased.
So, now is the time I ask the question that has been making rounds in my head for some years now. What is the opposite/antonym of “LOVE”? Don’t give me the text book answer “HATE”. It cannot be since Hate exists only where Love once did. When someone says he/she hates you now, it only means they do not love you the way they did before. Why I do not approve of it is, consider: Absence of light is Darkness. Hence, Dark is antonym of Light. Likewise, Goodness is the absence of Evil. But, hate is never the absence of love. Hate is the result of something gone wrong with the one you had once shared affection.
Hence, I believe that opposite of Love is apathy. Apathy is the feeling when you are least interested in what is happening to the other. A situation when their presence or absence doesn’t actually make any difference to you. When it doesn’t matter to you as to what his current plight is or if he is actually alive or dead log back. When he could be right in front of you, but your mind fails to register that fact and he ceases to exist. That could only be the opposite of Love.
Until some days back, I thought I should be thanking those who have seen down upon me all these while or have only pointed out my negatives. Wonder why I wanted to thank all of them? Because I thought that it’s this thinking of theirs that gave me a fighting spirit and I proved them otherwise turning all the negativity to positive. But, now I know, that I don’t actually have to thank all of them. Because how much ever I would want to, it doesn’t matter to me what they think or perceive about me or anything for that matter. Their presence or absence doesn’t make a difference anymore.
I do not see a reason to hate them because in the first place they were never worthy of Love! This way life is lot more easy.
-HPK!!!
