Thursday, August 07, 2008
OblivionEvery day Sonny would go to the market and run errands for his mother, but he made it a point to stop by the old wooden bridge and listen to the stories narrated by the old hermit who was always there fishing. One day Sonny asked the hermit if he had ever thought of marrying when he was young, and the hermit spoke:
"I had resolved to find the perfect woman as my wife, but each one that came my way fell short of my expectations. There was one who could do wonders in the kitchen, but did not know much about my favourite writer. Another fulfilled my intellectual voracity with her in-depth analysis of politics but lacked the same enthusiasm for nature. Then along came one who was beautiful, attentive and was on the same page as me on everything."
"So why didn't you marry her?" asked Sonny.
"Well, she was looking for the perfect man." sighed the old hermit, and he walked away along the river bank.
The following day Sonny went back to the bridge but could not find the old hermit there. There by the hermit's fishing rod stood a bottle with a letter in it, and Sonny opened it. It read:
My friend,in all my life's follies and mistakes, I've come to a late understanding that perfection does not exist in the very essence of the word. A person's shortcomings as well as the strong points all combine and give shape to the person as they are. We are all our good and bad points. So do not be too eager to cut off someone if they failed to meet our foolish expectations.
It's hard work trying to make a relationship last, there will be times when everything falls into place, yet there will be times when you feel like walking away. But know it's the hard work, not just blind love, that will be the cement you need as you both build your future together. No one said it was easy but it will be worth everything you lived for. Because at the end of your life when you're drawing your last gasps of air, and the one next to you holding your hand is the same person you had been sharing your lifetime with through thick and thin, that's when you realised you had truly loved another human being despite them not meeting your lofty ideals of perfection. Sweet nothings pale in comparison to that I believe, and I can very well imagine dying with a smile on my face knowing that the one holding my hand had always been the one for me.Do not worry about where I have gone to, for this is my fate, a traveller through time and space. Who knows, another young man may be waiting for me to share my life experience. Just like time, we will keep moving on in life. And just like the river, we will never keep still.
The river still flows.Live well.copyright paulocoelhoblog.com
Y7:23 AM
