I am cheating. This is not really recent reading.

Sometimes the truth is not just that it hurts, but that it's just so disappointing. You want to believe in romance and have romance in your life—even the most hardcore, cold intellectual wants the romantic notion. It kind of makes life worth living.

This is my favorite quote from the stellar article/interview with James Fallon who discovered he was psychopathic/had psychopathic brain patterns in mid-life.

The quote comes from a part of the article where he is talking about interpersonal relationships and how he doesn't connect to people emotionally the way most of us do.

It really resonates with me because sometimes I push potential romance away, and sometimes I say I'm not capable of having a successful long-term permanent relationship, and sometimes I just cop like I don't want one or care. But I know that deep down under it all, yeah, I feel the pull of the romantic notion. Even a psychopath feels the appeal of it, and he acknowledges it, and its universality. Everyone wants love, even though they might push it away or deny it or squander it when they have it.

I'm getting "the romantic notion" tattooed on my ribcage at some point (possibly today!). (Don't worry guys, this is a plan that's been in the works for some time.) It may not be comfortable or even useful, always, to admit to that desire for connection and romance - but I think it's really important to acknowledge and remember that it's there.