“Human relationships, that’s the hardest part of life,” mom used
to tell me.
Well, I could see that from my parents. They were very close, but dad
also confessed he wanted to be alone. “Living on my own, that’s what I want to
do.” Once he became in that situation, however, he said how lonely he really
was.
It seems challenging to keep cozy distance between people. I live on
my own and have my own office at work. Overall I benefit from this environment
as I can focus with almost no noise. On the other hand, I sometimes miss the
large office space in which I used to work with colleagues side by side. We
could see what others were doing, and start chatting when we were a bit tired
from work.
Now I have to visit other person’s office just to talk, and make
an appointment to see friends. Meanwhile, I don’t see people I don’t like
unless I need. It actually works quite well to minimize face to face time with
difficult people and talk to them only when needed. This applies to certain
family members or relatives, too.
“Difficult people” do not necessarily mean they are unfriendly or
mean. It actually often means just differences in way of life. People have
different values and resultant actions. Parents raise children. Singles spend
time otherwise. Some people are into fashion, whereas others are into
intellectual journeys. Some are conservative, some are liberal, some are in
between. Birds of a feather flock together, and it’s comfortable to communicate
with people similar to me.
At the same time, it’s refreshing to have a dialogue with those different from me because people in another culture could provide valuable insight.
