“Your love is my drug” a common saying and used frequently in a lot of lyrics in the music industry. In fact I’ve probably heard that saying been thrown around so much nowadays that it got me to question if there was an underlying layer of truth to it.
We live in a society where people abuse drugs to the extent that they cause severe long term damage to our health, most of which we are unaware of, and of course it doesn’t help that the Hip-Hop industry seems to glorify this concept through constant of “Kush” being used in countless music videos, leaving quite an impression of teenagers all around the world, because in their eyes if their “idols” are doing it then nothing wrong can come of it right?
Of course I’m not going to sit here and try and argue a losing case because let’s face it research has shown that if used appropriately weed can help prevent cancer, however doctors have also made it very clear that this type of treatment does come with its side effects. Most of which are always written in bold black print on the back of the medicine packaging. However I couldn’t help but wonder if love really was a drug and lets face it a highly addictive one… why didn’t it come with the warning that would make users more aware of its side effects?
We don’t realize this but almost all of us take relationships with our loved ones for granted at some point in our lives due to our busy schedules. We put off meeting our best-friends using office deadlines as an excuse, failing to realize that at one point these people played a significant role in shaping our lives, they helped us get to our destination may it be through their witty sense of humor or simply offering a shoulder to lean on in times of need.
This change is especially evident when you transfer from school/university to the workforce working those eight hours a day can really take its toll on you, however is it really that hard to call up a high-school friend for a cup of coffee at your local Starbucks? Of course social apps like WhatsApp, Viber and Hangouts have changed the whole perception on “ chillin with a mate” because it is a lot easier to txt one another rather than catch that 20 min train to meet a loved one.
But is it really the same as being able to see their eyes light up with laughter when you tell them how you almost burnt the kitchen down in a attempt to make apple pie from scratch? Is it really the same as hearing them go “awww” when you tell them how your 7-month-old daughter started crawling for the first time?
Is it really the same as leaning in over the table and catching up on old school gossip on who has the hottest boyfriend and then giggling over it like secretive high school girls? The answer is plain and simple. No.
Research shows that when you feel alone and isolated your immune system goes down by a shocking 80% making it harder for your body to fight day to day viruses like cold and flus. And the sad part is you won’t even know when this feeling will hit you, but when it does it’ll feel worse than a hangover. Guaranteed. This is one of the side effects that are never mentioned when you are high on love, may it be with your friends family or a significant other.
I never have and never will leave any of my posts on a depressing note, but I write them in order to force you to take a step back, hit the pause button on your life and think. Think that at the end of the day we humans are wired to thrive upon love and the company of others, we are naturally social beings. To move out of that habitat and into one where all you do is slave away at work day in day out without any attempt to meet your loved ones every so often, you might experience the side-effects of not being in love with ultimately… life.
Is it all really worth it at the end of the day?
While you ponder upon this hypothetical question I will leave you with a line from David L. Weatherford’s poem “ life isn’t a race so take it slower, hear the music before the song is over” the greatest gift in life is friendship, love and that warm bonfire like fuzzy feeling that you get when you meet long lost friends and it is one that some of us tend to open too late. So rip open your gift like a 5 year old does on a Christmas morning and savor it.
Strategic Chaos 