My best friend S. today told me one of those stories. A guy whom she has never met personally but has worked with over the phone, meets with her at a professional lunch, and an hour later emails her telling her that he believes that "in life there are moments where there is a before and an after." He later tells her that "after seeing her, his world has shifted and they have to meet."
I can not even count the number of times that I have fantasized about that type of courage. I have been on the train where upon a simple look, I have felt I should go to the person and tell them we should have coffee and know each other more.... There is zero times however, that I have done that in reality.
And the question is why haven't I done it and why do I think the guy who approached S. is crazy? Is it the fear of rejection? the societal pressure of being rude, blunt, pushy, too forward, presumptuous, or just our self instigated shyness or is it that the longing and the fantasy is gratifying already. Why do we love it in movies, but when it happens to us we think it is 'crazy'.
On the 'crazy' point it might just be that S.'s guy was possessed by the "love darts" Eros and Cupid. I hope they hit me with their darts too!
In the classical world, the phenomenon of "love at first sight" was understood within the context of a more general conception of passionate love, a kind of madness or, as the Greeks put it, theia mania ("madness from the gods"). This love passion was described through an elaborate metaphoric and mythological psychological schema involving "love's arrows" or "love darts" such as Eros or Cupid. (Wikipedia!)
p.s: I forgot to mention my friend N. does believe in love at first sight and has experienced it.
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