They Who Strays

Recently, I have been hearing a lot of "straying" stories that have got me thinking about this sacred idea of fidelity. Why is it that although it is so difficult to find true love and happiness with someone you really care about, there are still idiots out there who are willing to risk it for a moment of thrill and passion?

Is it really so difficult to stay true to one person only?

Just last year my friend, who I used to think have the sweetest and nicest boyfriend, got her heart broken when he fell for someone else. He was a really caring boyfriend who seemed to care about her a lot, and is always very nice to her friends too. It was really baffling to me because I always thought that they could really go the distance.

And not long ago, a friend of mine told me that she had been seeing a guy on the side despite being in a solid and long-term relationship with her boyfriend. Although nothing much happened between her and the guy apart from platonic outings and conversations, she felt guilty for going out another guy, no matter how innocuous, behind her boyfriend's back.

And the most shocking story has to be my teacher in secondary school whom I really respected back then. He had this seemingly perfect marriage; he married his secondary school sweetheart, had two annoying but adorable kids who he always brought, along with his wife, to school activities. In my memory, they always looked so happy, and just seemed like such a wonderful family.

Then a few months ago, I heard from a secondary school friend that they were divorced. I was even more flabbergasted when I heard the reason. Infidelity. And the outrageous thing was? Both of them were having affairs. It would appear that even the staunchest of lovers may not withstand the lure of excitement, of something that is new and fresh.

This really got me wondering, if even the very people that we look up to and hope to be like someday are also displaying such tendencies, then what kind of expectations can we have for love and even marriage in the future?

And the more important question is, am I just like them too? Will I be strong enough to defy the seduction of curiosity and novelty, if I am eventually in a relationship in the future?

Because if I am, then what the hell, I rather just stay single instead of bringing such grief to anyone like that.

I am not trying to be judgmental here. A friend once told me that everyone has the secret urge to cheat; it is just dependent on whether they are attractive enough to attract people who are willing to cheat with them. The reason being that no one is ever satisfied with the same thing over and over again.

It is like you are an avid gamer who currently owns a PSP, which has good graphics, good game capabilities and is simply a very satisfactory game console for you. However, if suddenly an NDS becomes available, the gamer in you just cannot help but want to try it out. Although you may still think that the PSP is the best, you just can’t help wanting to give the NDS a go just to affirm that the PSP is really better.

I do feel that it all really comes down to how much someone really means to us. I am sure that if the right person comes along, faithfulness is not just easy, it is nature. When people really stray, it means that something within their current relationship is already broken. And although for some it may be possible to work things out, but more often than not, the cracks are just too deep to mend.

The sad thing, I feel, is that these people may once feel strongly for each other. But when feelings change, they just do, and there is really nothing much we can do about it.

PS: I am really an NDS person. =P