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By Susanne Severeid February 01. 2016 6:08PM Mocha Musings: Not even Cupid can quantify a moonbeam Susanne Severeid How can you quantify a moonbeam? My son asked me this once a long time ago when he was much smaller than the young man he is today. I have no recollection as to how I answered him. Certainly, not by grabbing a marker and scribbling a quantum physics equation on the nearest white board. I probably just said, “Well, Honey, I don’t know. How would you?” I know that if he were to ask me this today, I might say there is no way to measure a moonbeam. Or maybe there is, but I sure don’t know how to. I might say that moonbeams are just impossible to measure. Kind of like rainbows. Or romance. Or love. Which brings me to this wonderful month of February: the month when Cupid reaches into his quiver and pulls out an arrow. He looks around, positions himself and, needing no point of aim to guide him (because, well, we all know that he has done this many times before), he places the nock of the arrow carefully in the bowstring. Might he cant his bow a bit to prevent from being seen by his mark? No need. He knows these mere mortals are paying him no heed, so busy are they either looking in each other’s eyes over a glass of champagne, or averting their glances or, worse still, oblivious to one another — thus, in Cupid’s estimation, in sore need of his arrow’s gentle sting. He expertly pulls back the string, curving the bow into a full-arch, and lets fly: his intention certain, his release steady and, even if blindfolded, his aim sure. Who among us thinks the word “cupid” stands for love? Actually, in Latin, cupido means “desire,” which — though often confused — is not quite the same thing. His parentage? Who knows. Through the ages, there are many variations on the theme of Cupid, but many say he is the offspring of Venus (Goddess of Love) and Mars (God of War). According to one source I found, he is winged because lovers are flighty and often change their minds (look at episodes of "Friends" or "Seinfeld" to confirm this), and boyish because love is irrational (irrational? okay, you’ve been warned). And, of course, Shakespeare had this to say in "A Midsummer Night's Dream": Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. Nor hath love's mind of any judgment taste; Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste. And therefore is love said to be a child Because in choice he is so oft beguiled. Has much really changed since the 1590s? We look for love, or don’t look for it, and it somehow finds us in spite of ourselves, or when we least expect it. Or then we do find it, and it is lost, or taken away from us. Or we find something that feels like it. Or not. But when we find it and its flame is allowed to burn at its brightest (think Johnny Cash and his "Ring of Fire"), then fasten your seat belts and be prepared for a wild ride. Moonbeams are, to me, like Cupid’s arrows. Some things cannot be quantified, at least not in a way that makes any sense. It would be like trying to measure romance in a lab beaker or contain the flicker of a candle in a jar. Like demanding to know why we savor the sweetness of a chocolate-covered cherry or the taste of honey upon our tongue. Do we need to understand the physiology of the nervous system in order to revel in a barefoot walk along the beach, feel the morning sun on our face or, for that matter and since we’re on the subject, enjoy a romp in a hot tub? Cupid, I daresay, would think not. He’d just shrug his chubby shoulders and, with an impish grin, reach for a golden arrow and take aim. Award-winning author, TV presenter and world traveler Susanne Severeid is an Ashland resident who enjoys making time for the important things in life — including mocha. Read more of her columns at bit.ly/adtssmm. For more, go to www.susannesevereid.com. Email her at [email protected].   http://www.dailytidings.com/article/20160201/NEWS/160209981 © 2016 Copyright © 1995-2011 Crain Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use Privacy Statement -->