Hey, readers, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr wrote “plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose”
Not long ago, stuck in my home with the internet as my only means of socializing, I learned a great deal about relationships. Words are powerful when used by someone who knows how to use them. This becomes even more powerful if that person can sense things about the person they are communicating with. If they have an agenda (an especially nefarious one), they are able to guide the person into almost anything. Yes, salespeople are good at that, but so are "scammers" after nothing more than your money and disguise that process with a romantic program. Yes, it is a program because it is nothing more than an act as an act on a stage. I fell into the snares more than once; two were exceptionally costly.
There is much more to express, but my focus is better spent on when we need the comfort of a companion, platonic, sexual, or a combination. Introductions in this modern day of instant communications that can be global may lead a seeker almost anywhere with an interest in nearly anyone. I have a motto after all my mistakes: "Beware, deception is all around you." Reaching back to a phrase President Ronald Reagan, from a Russian proverb, "Trust but verify," is also a good motto.
My thoughts today are that nothing is better than meeting face-to-face. There, you can experience chemistry, compatibility, nuances of attraction, and more information about a prospective companion or lover. I know nothing is guaranteed in this life. Even the best-arranged relationships can lead to tragic or heartbreaking endings. I retreat, but somehow, I always seem to come out of my shell in the future.
My second wife was "love at first sight." All went well for years. We had a son with a severe heart defect, and she, an RN, assumed he would meet an early demise, so she left with another man. My reactions to the situation hadn't helped; I buried myself in my music and performances with my band. Dark days and nights followed. Pardon my digression.
My current wife is ill and will not recover her lingering offers no clue for a medical prognosis. Forty years in a monogamous and fruitful relationship seems to have faded into the past and is so far removed that I find myself longing for a woman with average intellectual and sexual ability. The only way this can happen in my experience? I must meet her personally, and as I have often read in online texts, "We'll see how it goes."
Becoming friends is a good start, but I remain open to any scenario as I am seventy-seven years old, and time is not on my side.
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