We copulate, we procreate, the species thrives. Love and every other emotion that we connect to it are the froth of nature‘swildness. But if it is froth, it is wonderful froth. But I think that stepping back and admitting that romantic love is not an entity with a life of its own allows us to recognize that love, even romantic love, takes its likeness and continuity from the stories we tell about it. And as stories change, so does that experience. —John Spurlock —Love and Lovesickness 2 (The Blue Monkey Review)

Richard Dawkins’s theory of the “meme” (a cultural unit that spreads, almost like a living virus, from brain to brain) is very useful in deconstructing cultural truths that are powerful because they work extremely well. Have you read the story of the creation of the diamond engagement ring custom? It does a great job deconstructing that particular “timeless” myth. (I recently blogged about diamond engagement rings.)