Cogito ergo sum - I think therefore I am

René Descartes once said that. I'm no philosophy student but guess it makes sense to me. A friend once asked, "Is marriage an investment?" and that got me pretty much thinking. It's an interesting question, but I guess at the root of it all, it really depends on the perspective that one has. What is an investment?

in·vest·ment
n.

1. The act of investing.
2. An amount invested.
3. Property or another possession acquired for future financial return or benefit.
4. A commitment, as of time or support.
5. A military siege.
6. Archaic.
1. A garment; a vestment.
2. An outer covering or layer.

In its context, marriage can be an investment. You get a wife, you have children, you build a family. Looking towards the day when you retire and your children are old enough to look after you. You have a partner, someone to keep you company in good times and bad times. But the question I have is what is the ROI? What is to prevent your wife from looking for a better investment or for your children to look for another investment? I think - (therefore I am) that our thought patterns are important in shpaing not only ourselves but invariably, it will shape the people around us.

If marriage is an investment then alot of decisons will be made because of the investment slant given to it. Someone once told me that a child's behaviour towards things are learned behaviour and not taught. I jest, but the point I'm trying to make is that at the end of the day, the way you want to see things gives you power in that way.

I particularly liked the last definition of investment -- A garment; a vestment. Why? because, a marriage is putting on the garment of love. To choose to love someone despite of all the shortcomings that person had. And it speaks also of the love that Chirst had for his bride, to the point that He died for her. Amazing love!