Halfway Through 2008

Rob Brezsny's horoscope this morning made me think. He wrote about what I should be learning in the second half of this year.

He hoped that by the end of 2008, I would be able to look back and make the following declaration: "This year I've learned more about togetherness and collaboration than I'd picked up in the previous five years combined. I've finally registered the fact that a successful alliance of any kind requires as much hard work as any job. Most of my important relationships are better and more interesting, and the rest have faded away. I've surprised myself with how creative I've been in finding interesting ways to handle commitment."

Wouldn't that be wonderful?

This year so far (and the learning , of course, began long before that), I have discovered how to live alone and be happy. Imagine if I figured out the other half of the equation in the second part of the year.

It is a good year for that to happen.

I will be unable to rely on what I have learned about contentment once the summer begins. I will no longer be settled in my hermitage. I will be staying with people for short and long periods of time ... and will have to learn how to adjust over and over again. I will certainly have to learn about togetherness and collaboration, won't I? I cannot simply retreat to the lake when it isn't easy.

Most of the places I will be staying are adult homes where it won't be difficult, but Kerry's is a vibrant buzzing (and sometimes shrieking) hive of activity.

I imagine the first part of my stay will be simple ... Kerry, Maurice and Sam ... a new place and the freedom to discover it. Once all the kids come home it will be hectic. That is the nature of a household full of children, and that is true whether you love the kids or not ... and I do love these kids ... but their natural energy can overwhelm an older hermit used to silence. I can still head off on my own or with one or the other of the family of course, but I also have to figure out how to make the whole experience a good one; I can't simply always escape to a quiet place.

I will have to find creative ways of managing my love for the family and my need for tranquil solitude, and, if I am lucky, that knowledge will be transferable to other situations I encounter.