FullReads

One of the minor tragedies of life (or is it one of the major?) is the way we grow out of things–often against our will, sometimes against our better judgment. I don’t mean only that we grow out of clothes–that, after all, is nothing very serious, unless you have no younger brother to whom to hand them on; but we also grow out of desires, out of books, out of pictures, out of places, friendships, even love itself–oh, yes, most often out of love itself. You never seem to be able to say to yourself and the world: “There! this is what I yearn for; this is what I desire; this is what I adore; this is what I shall never tire of–shall always appreciate, to which I shall always show my devotion.” Or rather, you do say this in all sincerity at the moment. Only the passing of time shows you that you were wrong. You seem to grow out of everything which is within your reach, and are only faithful to those things which have just eluded your grasp. It is human nature, I suppose; but it is a dreadful bore, all the same! It would seem as if the brain could not stand the same mental impression for very long; it becomes wearied, eventually seeking to throw off the impression altogether. They tell us that everything we do, or hear, or say–every thought, in fact–is photographed, as it were, on the brain as a definite picture. And if this be true, the same impression must affect the same part of the brain–that part of the brain which becomes tired of this same impress, until it eventually seeks to throw it off as the body throws off disease. Take a very simple instance–that of a popular song. Experience has taught you to realise that, although the melody haunts you deliciously at first, you will eventually grow to hate it, and the tune which once sent you swaying to its rhythm will at last bore you to the point of anaesthesia. I often wonder why that is so? The answer must be physical, since the melody is just the same always–and, if it be really physical, then that surely is the answer to the weariness which always comes with repetition of even the greatest blessings of life in both people as well as things. If only we understood the psychology of boredom we might attain the eternal delight of never being bored, and what we loved once we should always love, until the end of our life’s short chapter. And that would simplify problems exceedingly, wouldn’t it?