Why a Romanced Life?

When I started my blog in 2013, this was my original post for why I called it a romanced life.

I am bit of a word nerd, and when researching “romance” I found it has no Latin or Greek root.  Romance originated during the Middle Ages, and at first referred to the French idea of chivalry which came from the arts. During such a dark time artists began to express themselves in a whole new way.  Paintings, music, philosophy, and literature began to reflect the connectedness of pain, struggle, chivalry, love, and beauty. Beauty came from the pain. Love came from the struggle.

I love to love. We are wired to love. I’m not talking about the love that people see as romantic today, but as they saw it in the medieval days. A love that heals the pain, that brings beauty from the suffering. I want to live a life that doesn’t just look at people, things, or ideas how they appear.  Life is about seeing the beauty in the everyday and appreciating the process of discovering it.

To me this is a journey of self. People come into our lives to teach us and guide us, but ultimately you have to discover yourself. I have no idea what I’m doing with my life. I do know that what I was doing wasn’t working for me right now, so I had to make a change.  I know change is constant, and I have to make steps to change into who I want to become. I know people are called to do what they find beautiful, and that’s why I’m lost because I find everything beautiful.  I know I have to discover myself and on this path I intend to live a romanced life.

It is cool to see how far my journey has taken me and the lessons that created space for me to grow and no longer feel lost.  I have found a career, purpose, and I love the woman I am becoming.  If I could rewrite this blog now (and I actually can and am), this is what A Romanced Life means to me….

Romance is often equated with chivalry and intimate, emotional love.  In fact, it is defined with those ideas if you look in any dictionary.  But where did it come from?

When I look back throughout history, there has been a plethora of stories told full of “romance.” One of my favorites is that of Helen of Troy.  Her beauty was so boundless that it started a war.  She was worshipped, and artists have used her as inspiration for hundreds of years.  A thousand ships were launched to claim her! Tell me that isn’t romantic?  But the word wasn’t even invented yet when this story was told.

In my analytical mind I want to ask, “what language did they use to describe it then?”  I know romance has clearly been defined by what it has been associated with throughout history and by whoever writes the dictionary.  If you associate it with chivalry, that came from a dark time full of pain and suffering, yet there was beauty.

Let me tell you what it means to me.

Yes, I do see romance in intimate relationships.  I also see it much deeper than that.  For me romance is an adventure, an experience, and a perception.  Romance fuels me to create with the world around me.  I feel romance deeply in my soul when I walk through a park full of trees and laughter.  My heart expands when I am looking at the stars knowing how small yet how infinite I am.  To me, that is romance.  It isn’t dependent on another human being.  It is dependent on how I choose to see the world and connect with it.  Trust me, it can be painful as well.  I have been fortunate enough to experience places, people, and cultures.  I have grasped love and let it slip away.  I have seen so many lives being born into this world, and I have kissed loved ones goodbye not knowing I would never see them again.  I have seen pain, and I have felt pain.

I started this blog running from that pain.  In my stories you will see that in return I ran into lessons, choices, and opportunities for growth.  I am far from the finish line, but this journey is my adventure.  I want to wake up feeling purpose.  I want to see the beauty in the every day.  I want to live a romanced life. Join me…..