Dating

In the days of Jane Austen a man would show his preference to a lady by first introducing himself to her family, and try slowly but surely to win her heart by earning the praise of her family. In those days it was the man who first showed his liking, as it was considered too forward if a lady showed her feelings before a man did, and then the man had to go through a time consuming and sometimes slow process of getting acquainted with the lady’s family as well. That is what was considered ‘dating’ in the old (ok, very old) days. As years passed and times evolved, men were seen to first try and impress the girl in mind and then tackle the family. That does seem a logical way to go, as in the long run it is both of them who have to spend all the time together. For this the man would ask the fairer sex out on a date, most often a meal, where they would shower them with attention, affection and gifts, and so begin the process of trying to woo the girl. And so the more recent version of dating came to be.

Dating is a fascinating process. As this is the time both person’s involved are getting to know the other, bith generally show only the ‘nice’ side of themselves. Until much later, when both are comfortable with each other, both the man and woman try not to show many of the faults they may have. This is understandable as dating is somewhat like a ‘mating ritual’ in some ways…we are trying to find a partner who we can depend on and live with for as long as we may live right?. Dating is also when confusion reigns as one of the more prevalent emotions, along with a certain degree of happiness, self-importance (here is someone who thinks what you say is significant) and maybe, for the lucky ones, the initial stages of love.

Going on dates are pretty dependable ways of finding out if you can stay together with the person for a long time without wanting to run away, or God forbid, kill them!. Dating is also an enjoyable time for most as there is a lot of mutual attraction, flirting and both generally enjoy the other person’s company. If, after going through the dating process, either or both of those involved feel like they would not be able to have a long-term relationship, they end the relationship then and there, which bring us to another good thing about dating – unless really serious, it can be a totally no-strings-attached approach, which significantly reduces the pressure for both, at least at the beginning.