The Walk of Couples

Near my workplace is a park with lot greenery, a playground and a walking track. On some evenings I go there for a leisurely walk, while allowing my mind to drift and gain some new perspectives on some issues. The park bustles with activity with men and women indulging in some form of exercise, children playing and with people just chatting.

There are three different categories of couples who visit the park. The ones in their early twenties, who sit on the benches, talking to each other, lost in each other's eyes, oblivious to the world; the ones in their late twenties to forties, who come to the park together for their exercise but walk separately at varying speeds; and then the elderly who walk very slowly together with occasional bursts of conversations.

I think, this pattern is also indicative of how we act in the journey of life. Young couples start of with love as the foundation of their aspirations and actions. They dream their dreams together. At some stage, they migrate their efforts to proving and establishing themselves, and their partner becomes someone in the periphery of the overall priorities. In the never ending chase for fame and proving their worth, times passes, children grow up, friends drift apart and younger folks outpace them at work. Now they realize that their partner is the one who is still willing to walk with them at their now diminished pace. They turn their attention to their partners perhaps out of necessity or perhaps to discover the love which to begin with had given them wings.

Why doesn't it become obvious early on that a journey with love even if traveled at a slower pace will provide more growth and happiness than a solo race to a mirage?