All Things Pass

There was something about The Beatles that haunted Trudy. Even though she was born after they had split up, their songs connected with her life and everything around her. 

She had never heard a song by them that did not give her an answer or a direction to any situation in her life. She knew that they wrote from their life experiences, no matter how surreal some of the songs got. 

She lived through all of her the teens listening to them and they kept her wise and sane. 

She partied, got high, prayed, meditated and this she felt, kept her balanced. She indulged in everything she wanted to, and always kept it in moderation. 

There were times when she may have had one drink too many, but everything had its place in her life in moderation. 

Her boyfriend Mike was the opposite in many ways. He was always trying out new things and trying to push the envelope. He wanted adventure, he wanted to live wild and that meant a lot of experimentation with drugs, sex and his overall attitude was that of one who wanted to milk the most out of life. 

They were drawn to each other because of the similarities and differences that they had. And life kept them together through it all. 

Trudy loved to shower him with love as she knew that love was all she needed to get through this journey called life. 

Mike wanted to help her widen her horizons with books, movies and music and she appreciated that. 

They had a good time and got along well. Nobody was trying to change anybody, yet they managed to inspire each other. 

To make a difference in somebody’s life was a gift and inspiring someone was the only thing that one could hope for. 

All through their time together, they had relinquished the desire of ownership of each other. They were together when they were together, and lived separate lives when the were apart. They put no pressure on each other and that kept them happy. 

Claiming ownership of another was a sure recipe for disaster, as they had seen in many couples. They knew that relationships were a lot work and they did what it took. 

Ownership of one’s significant other was just an extension of the ego. First there was a me and then followed a mine. This was what Trudy thought of relationships. 

To avoid all the pain that this vanity got, it was best to not mess it up with the sort of attachment where every act of one was taken to reflect on the other. That was the problem with ninety percent of the relationships. 

Unfulfilled desires and expectations of each other were the root of all conflict she thought, and they did their best to avoid these traps. 

They did not have marriage on their minds because they felt that this was the source of all the pressure on couples who had taken that step. 

‘The name given to a relationship is the source of the bondage arising out of that relationship’ is what she thought about marriage. 

And nothing like a marriage license to formalise the ownership. 

Trudy felt that marriage was on it’s last legs and would survive for a hundred years at the most. It was outdated and a new way of celebrating love would evolve with the times. 

And when that happened, a new and harmonious way of living would come to replace the old. And then, that would in turn be replaced with another way of loving and being. 

“All things must pass” as George Harrison said.

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