Swings

I don't know if I'm analysing the situation too much or if it really exists but I have noticed that things in life go through phases. In this case I am referring primarily to romantic relationships and the idea that 'love is in the air'. It seems to me that at times, lots of people are breaking up and at other times lots of people are getting together.

In my view it's very similar to the economy. There are upswings, and downswings, times of prosperity and times of recession. And it seems to apply to most areas of life, which is why I believe it is imperative that we are constantly assessing our lives to find out where we are in the cycle so we can respond appropriately.

The reason I raise this is recently quite a few of my friends have entered romantic relationships, and while in most cases these friends know each other, there are cases where these friends don't know each other at all.

Which begs the question: is it a coincidence or is there a group mentality that pushes people toward a specific thought pattern? And how much of this is related to the resolve that one person has to pursue a relationship with a specific person? And why don't I 'suffer' from this group mentality?

I have seen this cycle run its full course at least three times now, on each occasion studying it trying to find some answers and yet not many seem to be coming my way. On each occasion I notice some sort of spark within one person's approach toward another person, and it seems to be contagious because usually this spark spreads until quite a few people have a changed mindset and are all doing things differently. Every time this happens I just don't seem to catch the spark though, and I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but more on that later.

It is at this stage that the person with the 'spark' changes their attitude and how the react to either a group of people or a specific person and after a few days to weeks a target is aquired. Shortly thereafter the target makes his or her first move. Either they walk away or they engage on some or other level with the original person, and thus begins the flirting etc.

I have noticed that at this stage there are usually a minimum of 5 people engaging differently and at the end of the process at least 50% of them have engaged in a romantic relationship, with the other 50% having been turned down by their target.

Of course the actual pursuit and entering into a relationship is never the same, and can take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks to complete but it really interests me that it happens to different people in the same way.

I don't understand it, and I also don't understand why I have never felt this 'spark' but it makes for interesting analysis. So, give it some thought and if you have some answers comment and let me know.

I haven't done any research into this but I have given it some thought and it is quite strange on one level and yet totally understandable on another. Perhaps I'm just a weirdo and that's why I don't catch this spark. Either way it scares me a little...