In honor of Valentines day lets talk about love…well, not really. This is really how my thought process works. This weekend I got to hear Ellis play Hurricane three times, which is a song about young love, the type where you’re so into each other it almost makes you sick. Well, it’s been a very long time since I’ve been in that place. Sure, I remember those feelings, but I’ve been with this old love for quite a few years now. Ah, but I was explaining my thought process today, so back on topic 
So young love is this crazy thing, with extreme highs and lows, which make us hold on for dear life sometimes. But old love, old love is smoother. The highs aren’t as high, but the lows aren’t as low either, as a general rule. Which leads me to my visual representation. Warning, it’s a big scientifically geeky.
Today I realized that the history of the Earth describes relationships pretty well. Young earth was a very volitile place. Mountains were taller, valleys deeper, everything was sharper. But as the Earth matured, erosion mellowed things out. Mountains shrink, and valleys fill in with the material taken from the mountains. The overall landscape smooths out, making it less difficult to traverse.
Relationships follow a similar evolution. At first the highs are so high that the lows can feel much worse than they need to be. The terrain is more difficult to navigate as we learn who we are, and who others are. But as time goes on, things mellow out a bit. We go longer without arguments, and the arguments are less dangerous to the relationship.
Now, as the Earth ages, new mountains are formed, valleys deepen as rivers flow. As everyone who’s been in a long term relationship knows, new arguments and disagreements come up to replace those you’ve conquered. But, with experience we learn to traverse those so there is less danger involved.
In my mind, I really can see the Earth’s cycle and the human relationship as very similar processes but on very different time scales. Sure, young Earth and young love is exciting, but it can be dangerous. And there’s definately something to say for the calmness that comes with old love. So on this Valentine’s Day (which we don’t celebrate) I wish you all find a love that survives the life cycle to become old love. :-)
