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I was forced to question this the other day when I found myself telling one of my colleagues that I had seen "him" (or Mr GQ as he is now known) once again. My sightings of him were becoming more frequent (much to my pleasure of course) and the fact that I walked into the office with a smile most mornings had not gone unnoticed. I kind of sensed from her tone that she was intent on teasing me about the situation when she turned to me and said "awww it's love at first sight."

Clearly she had forgotten whom she was speaking to. I am not a person who falls in love easily. So the idea of me doing so after one sighting (regardless of how fine Mr GQ is) is a particularly ridiculous thought. I almost choked on my obligatory morning caffeine fix as I laughed in her face. This somehow translated as an admission to her suspicions.... Supposedly, my laughter was "too much" and she thought I was hiding (or at least in denial about) the truth.

After about the third time of insisting that I hadn't fallen in love with him, she left me alone.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I haven't been there before.... I have suffered the illusion of feeling love at first glimpse before. However, those were in days when I was younger, and dare I say it, not very wise. Now I think it's safe to say that I am not in that predicament because over the years I have learnt that it isn't always best to rely upon the concept of love at first sight. But, I still understand its appeal, since we live in a society where first impressions are everything.

I'm now smiling again, as I think back on the first time I actually "sighted" Mr GQ. I don't recall Cupid shooting me with his bow and arrow, but I do recall being rendered speechless by Mr GQ's "swagger"; much to the annoyance of the friend I was with, who stood waiting for me to complete my response to the question she had just asked.

The problem with "love at first sight" is that it is retrospective. We only deem an interaction with a potential suitor the result of love  at first sight after the fact. So when a friend of mine met a guy recently at a work event, she was quick to claim it as love at first sight, because of his apparent wit, charm and also because he was gorgeous. Funnily enough, the same was not said of an equally handsome guy she met on the bus, although that could probably have had something to do with his poor manners and questionable body odour, either way the initial moment which was shared (a coy glance over a newspaper to be exact) was very soon dismissed and forgotten almost as fast as it had occurred.

If this is how we make judgements, does love at first sight not just become love at first consideration?

  Onyx Knight