The Medulla Obligation

Book excerpt: Few things feel better than early love. We feel like we are flying. At that time, Nature adds its endorsement and accelerant to make sure survival concerns do not preempt going through the actions that have a high likelihood of making children. This force—the Medulla Obligation--is a compilation of hormones and romantic notions meant to enslave us to love’s duties. However, some of love’s duties are aggressive, territorial, and vicious, and those are exaggerated too. We have all been buried under its suffocating power many times in our lives. The introductory offer ends. Things were so promising; now confusion reigns. What do we have in front of us? What just happened? Who was that? “For any particular thing, ask: What is it in itself? What is its nature?” — Marcus Aurelius Once the nature of this force and its goals and methods are presented, sequenced, and better understood, we can prepare. This book is about the aftershocks sent out by the exaggerating forces of courtship as enforced by the Medulla Obligation—our core purpose—and their departure. Through awareness, we can still fly in the euphoria of new love, and escape the worst crashes of love when the flight loses momentum.