"I also have", say I, "A condo in Yaletown that could easily be converted to a two bedroom. My thought is two people from here could stay there, and six others in my house, as needed.
"I do want to know one thing, please", says Melissa, trying to conceal her frustration, "Why are you people offering us your homes now? Isn't it obvious to everyone, that for now, anyway, no one is going anywhere."
"I think it's to bring balance to the community", say I. "Yes, in an ideal universe we could all live together here in the woods happily ever after, but my last five days here has shown me something quite different. This place is very troubled, and this house and property could be haunted, perhaps even possessed by some malevolent forces. Plus, this kind of isolation, long term, is simply not healthy. Not for anyone, and especially not for either one of you, Carl and Melissa. This is an incredibly beautiful place you have. A magical place, but it lacks balance. I think you both should be at least open to the possibility of living part time in the city with us, maybe even alternating between the ladies at Maureen's house, and my place. We will still be together, maybe not all at once or all in the same place, but we could also reconvene regularly here at the house, perhaps every month or so for a few days. But if there is one thing that our past three days of hanging out in the diner has been showing me, it has to do with what a component feature of any authentic Christian spiritual reality is spending time with ordinary people in the real world. Me, I plan to return to my profession as a palliative care nurse, because my spiritual wellbeing depends on this kind of connection with regular people living in ordinary real life situations. And I think that both of you, Carl and Melissa, really need to come and stay with us in order to learn and absorb this for yourselves. To me this would be the most meaningful way I could think of giving back to you for the genuine care, friendship and hospitality you have shown me here."
No comments:
Post a Comment