Anything that can pierce the thick wall of self is valuable. So I suppose that art and falling in love are the things I trust to do that. One idea you explored in The Passion was that of the powerful 'first love', with anything experienced after as just being a re-creation. Maybe this isn't a question, but just an acknowledgment that those words were beautiful, yet also threatening in their implication. No, I don't think what comes after is a re-creation, but I think that powerful experiences change us, and help us to avoid what is only mediocre and lukewarm.
Love is too precious to treat at the level of the everyday.
I know I'm a hopeless romantic, but keeping alive the things that matter is part of my job. I love Kathy's work, and I loved her a a person. I don't care how people write, I care that they do it well.