intellect

I've been thinking a lot lately about intellect. My Mum's been diagnosed as having Alzheimers and this is partly why. As she's losing her memory. It is heartbreakingly sad.. she was a doctor (psychiatrist actually) and it is apparantly a disease that destroys part of the brain.

My friends and I have often talked about how someone we are going out with should have our level of intellect (obviously we see our intellect level as being quite high or we wouldn't say this!)..and I now think this is wrong. Well at least for me, and for now.....with the boyfriends who were equally educated to me, we didnt have high level intellectual conversations in particular. And all types of intelligence are realy valid- emotional, practical, etc...and we can learn from all of them. I actually broke up with a gorgeous man as I thought we couldn't speak about lots of subjects that I deemed important at the time...maybe I should've been more patient.

On a recent trip to Paris with my family, it struck me that we try and outsmart each other to prove how clever we are and how informed. This is stupid, is this cos we are competitive or because we are seeking approval and recognition..? It is especially bad given my Mum's condition.