the reopening process of my cottage includes reinstating the internet connection. sylvie, the lady i spoke with from xplornet who immediately put us on a first name basis, repeated the obvious a few times, that the service had been suspended. "yes, i see you've been suspended." then, a little later: "hmm, you're still suspended." i remarked absently that the last time i was suspended was in junior high school, which she found amusing.
anyway, eventually, after all the bells and whistles were fiddled with and the modum lit up like a christmas tree, sylvie asked if i wanted to include anyone else on my account. i was honestly a bit puzzled by the question and asked "who?" sylvie said "well, it's just a question, in case someone else there may want to be able to call and access our help." so i said "but there's only me." so then sylvie said "well, i thought there may be someone you'd want to add." so then i said "do you know of anyone?" which sent her into paroxisms of laughter. obviously, i felt it was a tremendously successful interraction and said so on the proverbial short follow-up survey.
the british writer, philosopher and speaker, alan watts (1915-1973), pointed out that "the relationship of yourself with another is the complete realization that loving yourself is impossible without loving everything defined as other than yourself." i especially like that he used the word 'everything' instead of 'someone.' while not minimizing the beauty and wonder inherent in the traditional concept of a relationship as being with one other person, (usually), i appreciate his recognition of a more universal concept of love. and he leads our attention to the fact that we may not be as separate from each other as it seems.
another great contemporary philosopher, rodney dangerfield, once said "my wife and i sleep in separate rooms, we have dinner apart, we take separate vacations - in other words, we're doing everything we can to stay together." my parents were together sixty-three years, and probably argued every single day. i once asked my dad if he ever thought of divorce and he said "absolutely not. never never never..." then he winked at me and added "but, of course i have thought of murder from time to time." and then there's my friends josee and marc who still hold hands after forty years.
the point i'm making here is ridiculously clear: we should be happy in whatever situation we find ourselves, and make it beautiful. personally, i'm just pleased as punch i could write this simple piece and post it from my cottage. now i gotta go talk to the loons, whom i love.