Life: (2 of 3) The Magic of ‘Three’

(hint: start at the beginning) The Magic of ‘three’. Is there such a thing? If so, perhaps we could find ways of applying it in our lives (e.g. in relationships). To be honest I first thought of a three-fold understanding of relationships about two years ago, but it is only with this more recent framework of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty that I have been able to articulate it in a way that is true to the good life.

We can begin about 12 months ago, when an ex-girlfriend asked me, “what is it that you want in a woman in a relationship?” Now, forget about my fumbled, bumbled, idiotic answer at the time (I already have), and think about an answer that builds from the ‘magic triad’.

First, I want beauty, I want attraction. I want her smile to make me forget myself and her eyes to make me forget the world. I want chemistry and that feeling of ‘wow!’ whenever she enters the room. I want grace and confidence.

Grace and confidence are intimately mingled with goodness. Martin Luther King Jr., Princess Diana, people with goodness deep within their hearts, whose actions are always with others in mind, never selfish, these are people with true grace and confidence. I want a woman whose care for the world is so deep that it is the suffering of others, not her own, that makes her cry. It is that goodness that goes beyond mere attraction to a level of more intimate togetherness.

Finally, one realizes that even togetherness is subject to change. We must go deeper still. We must unravel the very source of one another’s goodness, to know whether our sources speak from the same truth. We must come to some common agreements about some of the big questions in life. It is only here, in truth, that we reach common notions that go beyond the ever-changing craziness of our lives. Even feelings of togetherness, in any relationship, are sometimes lost for a time. It is at these times that most relationships end; but those who have achieved a common truth, who have achieved unity will survive these times and come back to a togetherness and an attraction that is deeper than ever.