Well the chimp idea is not so silly after all. Males just kind
of take their ladies "out to dinner". If she turns out to be
the selfish one, they can easily swop to a less selfish
female.

Females cannot misuse their power either, so its a much fairer
system!

Which brings us right back to why pairbonding evolved in the
first place.

Dear Yabby,

I'm going to go and take a hot bath,
and relax a bit, I've done everything
in readiness for the Family's Easter
Sunday Lunch tomorrow.

Before I go however - I want to leave you this
poem, I don't know the author - but it sums up
what I feel love is all about:

"I cannot promise you a life of sunshine;
I cannot promise riches, wealth, or gold;
I cannot promise you an easy pathway
That leads away from change or growing old.
But I can promise all my heart's devotion;
A smile to chase away your tears of sorrow;
A love that's ever true and ever growing;
A hand to hold in yours through each tomorrow."

Take care.

Foxy, that is a lovely poem and indeed would reflect what
you are all about.

I know some high oxytocin type females similar to yourself
and they make wonderful mothers and partners. Usually
in the country, they are snapped up at around 18 and
that's it for life.

So you see the world through your eyes, your experiences
and your genetics, but don't make the mistake of thinking
that all women think or feel like you do. There are all
types out there, some very selfish, some very greedy.

That is the point I've been trying to get across at times.
This "blame it all on men" is just a nonsense. I know
some great guys who sadly for them, married real bitches.
I know some lovely women who married real idiots.

So I try to see each person for what they are. IMHO
its more about how the dna falls at conception, most
people are kind of driven and are not about to change
their spots.

I know people who are happy and content most of the time.
I know people who are sad and miserable most of the time.
It seems some just can't help themselves, it is kind of
their genetic destiny. So I think free will is maybe
not so free at all, as we often assume.

Have a great Easter

Foxy

Loved your poem.

Yabby

Seeing a new and welcome side to you.

I hope you both appreciate the following Dilbert cartoon:

http://dilbert.com/dyn_file/str_strip/48089/gif/strip.print/

Dear Yabby,

I'm glad that you liked the poem.

Have a great Easter as well.

Dear Fractelle,

Loved Dilbert!

I guess, though we did not reach a satisfying conclusion, under which one could draw a line and say: "Right,. That's that sorted. Now onto the next question." we did explore a lot of different themes under the heading of love here.

I too am going to offer a poem. It was given to me by someone who understood my confusions on the whole theme of lurve and the word love never enters into it, yet I hold it always inside me as the most perfect (to me) expression of that feeling.

'There is a tear
in my mind's eye,
Where God and Truth and Beauty
stand reflected.
And there you are:
Summer-soft and perfect,
Wrapped in sweet memories.

Others may prefer outright declarations, red roses and moonlight. But being held in someone's mind in the same place where god and truth and beauty are held has always, since then, defined the feeling that I equate with love.

Is it selfish? Maybe. But though the lives of the person who wrote it and I have gone in different directions, its made me a better person for having gone through the rest of my life trying to ensure that I am always worthy of sharing the place in anyone's mind where such values lie.