Favorite Lyric Quotes

  • "I could rage like a fire and you'd bring rain I desire" 'Morningside' by Sara Bareilles

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Chasing Satisfaction

Romeo and Juliet Balcony scene

ROMEO
O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?

JULIET
What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?

ROMEO
The exchange of thy loves faithful vow for mine.

JULIET
I gave thee mine before thou didst request it:
And yet I would it were to give again.

ROMEO
Wouldst thou withdraw it? for what purpose, love?

JULIET
But to be frank, and give it thee again.
And yet I wish but for the thing I have.
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.

[Nurse calls within.]

I hear some noise within; dear love, adieu!
Anon, good nurse! Sweet Montague, be true.
Stay but a little, I will come again.

[Exit, above.]

ROMEO
O blessed, blessed night! I am afeard.
Being in night, all this is but a dream,
Too flattering-sweet to be substantial.

[Re-enter JULIET, above.]

JULIET
Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed.
If that thy bent of love be honourable,
Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow,
By one that I'll procure to come to thee,
Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite;
And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay
And follow thee my lord throughout the world


Aren't we all just hopeless, longing romantics, such as Romeo? Pining after lofty beauty seemingly untouchable? We know we're not in the same league as our desired beauty, and yet we reach. We seek for something greater than ourselves. We are so….unsatisfied without her. Even though she turns her face to us and calls us worthy. She accepts us with fondness and affection. And she does it even before we realize it.

ROMEO

O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?

JULIET

What satisfaction canst thou have tonight?

ROMEO

The exchange of thy love’s faithful vow for mine.

JULIET

I gave thee mine before thou didst request it:

And yet I would it were to give again.

She’s already given her love and yet we don’t feel the satisfaction of it. Because right now, we are merely engaged. There’s something greater to come. She has committed herself to us. Then she says she would take it back just to give it again. The thought of losing her love grieves us. We only see the part about her taking it back. But we are to worry not. For she would only take it back to return it.


ROMEO

Wouldst thou withdraw it? And for what purpose, love?

JULIET
But to be frank, and give it thee again.

And yet I wish but for the thing I have.

My bounty is as boundless as the sea,

My love as deep; the more I give to thee,

The more I have, for both are infinite.

If you read on you will see that she wants our love to be honorable. She fears our rejection. She wants us to wait for her. All of this from an unattainable beauty. We cannot believe it! But if we honor her and honor ourselves seeking the final satisfaction of her love, she will lay down her fortunes at our feet and remain with us wherever we go.


JULIET

I hear some noise within; dear love, adieu!
Anon, good nurse! Sweet Montague, be true.
Stay but a little, I will come again.

[Exit, above.]

ROMEO

O blessed, blessed night! I am afeard.
Being in night, all this is but a dream,

Too flattering-sweet to be substantial.

[Re-enter JULIET, above.]

JULIET
Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed.

If that thy bent of love be honourable,

Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow,

By one that I'll procure to come to thee,

Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite;

And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay

And follow thee my lord throughout the world.


A fantasy, right? Shakespeare was a romantic idealist in his writing, was he not? The underdog catches the attention of the beauty. Rarely does this happen in real life, right? Sure some of it is true. We long for beauty and spend our lives seeking satisfaction. We seek love. But does love seek us?


24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'Acts 17:24-27

If that’s not lofty love seeking us out, I don’t know what is. He needs nothing and no one. But he created everything and everyone to lure us to his love. I’ll take that any day over roses and chocolate. We are loved by an untouchable beauty. He has turned his face to us with fondness and affection. He offered his love to us before we could ask for it. If we return His love, he offers us everything in eternity with Him, where we will finally stop chasing for satisfaction. We will be fulfilled, for we will be without Him/Love no more. So stop seeking and be found. Satisfaction comes from the Lord.

1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”- 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Sona]">[a] into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice forb]">[b] our sins.1 John 4:7-10

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