Journal Entries
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Bon Journal
The comfort of good relationships
An ex-colleague, once a career woman, married an investment banker,
and became a mother of five children, told me that she considered maintaining
good (existing) relationships her top priority. I was surprised that this
was a goal in itself.
Now that I begin to see the world not as a laboratory for technological
progress but as a place where we all need to live together - for better
or worse. And I understand why maintaining good relationships is so important.
Why would maintaining good relationships be a challenge at all? Given
human nature for envy, jealousy, misunderstanding, and other imperfections,
it is easy to fall into disharmony.
Yesterday, new and old friends came together to enjoy an evening of
Argentine, Chilean, and French red wines and a home-cooked dinner of courgette
soup and spaghetti. We got together to watch the sunset and listen to
good music. It was as simple a get-together as any. Yet for time-challenged
individuals, it was three and a half hours of sheer delight and comaraderie,
an evening I, for one, will certainly not forget.
It was also refreshing to see neighbours gathering together for the
25th wedding anniversary of an Irish and Dutch couple. They had met in
Ireland during her holiday. A year later, he travelled to the Netherlands,
completely broke and desperate. She took him in, got married, and settled
down. When asked the secret to a long lasting marriage, he replied, "A
lot of sex." Without knowing his reply, she replied, "A lot
of work."
Whether friends, family, neighbours, or colleagues, maintaining good
relationships is about living harmoniously. And this is the kind of comfort
I want in my life - a kind of continuity uninterrupted by my frequent
travels.
11 June 2001
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