Love Potion

   “It’s just tea.” Every time I hand him a cup, he hesitates, looking at me with a hint of distrust. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t believe in love, or maybe he’s just plain terrified of it. Whatever his distorted beliefs, he simply doesn’t trust his own feelings. He will do anything, make up outlandish stories, even project false accusations in order to deny his affections. That’s why I’m a witch. I secretly prepare a magical elixir with mysterious herbs and roots, then I pretend it’s just ordinary tea. Knowing this, my boyfriend continues to drink it, every drop, every time. He wants to love, he just doesn’t think he is capable on his own. He needs the fantasy, he needs to be hypnotized into it. A witch and her potions are just the trick. So here we are, several years later, me still concocting my elixirs, he still consuming the fantasy. Truth be told, I do have a mini apothecary in my kitchen, a few spell books laying around, and I talk to animals. In the old days, I most certainly would have been called a witch, possibly burned at the stake. Nowadays, there isn’t anything unusual about my kitchen or my quirks. I just happen to be closely aligned and in tune with Nature. I communicate with plants, animals, bugs, the weather, the Ocean, as I’ve done my entire life. I have always understood the healing powers of herbs and crystals, and I channel Spirit guides. What’s so weird about that? When it comes to tea, people have been drinking it for centuries, for many reasons, and brewing it up with all kinds of herbs, roots, barks, fungi, and other natural ingredients. There must be some efficacy to it. I, for one, believe in these healing properties, and therefore the “magic potions” work. I also believe in an energetic force we call “love”, therefore, it exists. That is how love potion works. 

   What is “love” anyway? Nobody really understands it, and people toss the word around like a hot potato. I find that those who use it most often are least likely to know the true meaning. They think that the more they say it, the more real it becomes. Sorry, but that’s not how it works. I have also noticed that those who never use the word are typically most fearful of strong emotions. They’ve had their hearts broken, usually by parents or whomever was supposed to adore them unconditionally. Then there are the religious zealots claiming to “love” everyone, and that there is some guy in the sky who loves us all. Just don’t piss him off or suffer some imaginary consequences. No wonder everyone is terrified of the notion! I have studied comparative religions, world philosophies, and psychology, paying close attention to the concept of “love” throughout. I also make note of my own, personal experiences, from childhood through maturity, and the many “loves” of my life. I have studied the term itself, in depth, and it seems that every philosopher, psychologist, theologian, scientist, poet, artist, or other love-obsessed human being has a different, very subjective idea of what the term means. The one thing that all theories have in common? The human mind. Every single person has a unique, complex, self-generated concept of love, what it should be, what it is not, what they want it to be, how to get it, how to express it, how to avoid it, how to crush it…in general, most people imagine love to be a finite thing that can be controlled or manipulated. No big surprise there. Typical of the human condition, we want to believe that we can control everything. Even love. Which brings me back to the idea of magic potions that can control people’s feelings.

   If everyone could just accept the fact that love is an energy, and that nobody can control it in any way, life would be so much easier. It simply exists, like air, electromagnetic fields, gravity, etc.. We all feel it, all of the time. The differences lie in how each of us responds or reacts to that powerful feeling. Some will fully embrace it, reveling in the pure, positive energy of it, savoring the tingly waves of it moving through and surrounding the body. Some call it “butterflies”, others call it “a breath of fresh air”. Then there are those who dread the thought of it, who cringe at the sensation, and strive to repel it at all costs. They have built up a dark, negative concept of love, and react to it as a threat, putting up defenses and fighting it off like a dangerous enemy. I have met, dated, lived with, loved and survived almost every type. The biggest take-away I got was that love is always an individual choice. The feelings are there, one just chooses the response. No person can “make” another love them, or force another to express their love in a particular way. Just because it exists, even if the person feels love, that does not mean they will choose to offer or share it or even accept it for themselves. Don’t get me started on the different kinds of love, either. The whole concept of “romance” is what causes all of the problems for the true lovers! It is what conjures ideas of mystical powers and secret potions that can magically make someone “fall in love” with another. The only truth in these romantic stories is that of brainwashing. But it is not an outside factor or another person doing the mind trip ON the unsuspecting “victim”. It is, in fact, the so-called victim who believes that someone or something has power over them. If one believes that a potion can make them fall in love with someone else, then it will. It is always about belief. It is self-hypnotizing. We all do it in some form or another, formulating our unique, individual belief systems based upon a gazillion factors: Our parents, caretakers, abusers, friends, co-workers, books, news, movies, games, travels, adventures, religions, philosophies, dreams, etc., etc., etc.. So many influencers, and all choices. We choose who and what influences us. We choose who and what we love or don’t. We choose whatever we want or don’t want merely by focusing on it. It is a fact that we attract whatever it is that we choose to focus upon. For the time being, my boyfriend and I choose to be together, to exchange love energy, and I am a witch who doses his tea. When we aren’t having fun anymore, we will move on, go our separate ways, choose a new experience and new beliefs. After all, it’s just tea.