We Belong Together

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.   That sounds good, but things are never that simple.   The problem, you see, is how to know what we want to have done to us.--Viet Thanh Nguyen, THE SYMPATHIZER, a novel
Julie Waller is the Vietnamese girl who arrived at my high-school back in the mid-1970’s.   She had written not-so-long-ago about her marriage.  And now she sent a recent postcard from Calistoga, California.  I guess she was getting a mud bath or something more soothing in the mineral pool at Indian Springs.  She wrote a short and sweet note.  A few words are better than no words at all…
9-24-92Hello Mike,I just returned from Boston.   How are you?  Life is good.  I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to visit when I was in Manhattan Beach…maybe next time.Write me soon.  Love, Julie
Paloma made it to EURODISNEY from the look at her most recent postcard:
…to lie out in the sun, drinking a great cocktail is exactly what I’ve been doing for a month.  Can you imagine how depressing it can be?  Well, I admit I’ve done it before you.   It’s better when I do it than when you do it!  
How does it feel to lose your suntan?  I’m, of course, kidding.  I know how it feels to be back at work.  Why can’t we just always be on vacation? 
I’m really depressed when I look at my immediate future.  They are painting our new apartment in Sete.  We are going to move…Love, Paloma
And this song called END OF THE ROAD by BOYZ II MEN is constantly playing.   I’m listening to the lyrics more closely and I see why it’s been number one for the past seven weeks.   Everyone can identify with it…that’s the secret of a great song: …you know we belong togetherI don't have no time for you to be playing with my heart like thisYou'll be mine forever baby, you just seeWe belong togetherAnd you know that I'm rightWhy do you play with my heartWhy do you play with my mindSaid we'd be foreverSaid it'd never die
How could you love me and leave me and neverSay good-byeWhen I can't sleep at night without holding you tightEach time I try I just break down and cryPain in my head oh I'd rather be deadSpinning' around and aroundAlthough we've come to the end of the roadStill I can't let goIt's unnatural
You belong to meI belong to youCome to the end of the roadStill I can't let goIt's unnaturalYou belong to meI belong to youI know you really love meYou just don't realizeYou've never been there beforeIt's only your first timeMaybe I'll forgive youMaybe you'll try
We should be happy together foreverYou and ICan you love me again like you loved me beforeThis time I want you to love me much moreThis time instead just come to my bedAnd baby just don't let me downI'm here for youAll those times of night when you just hurt meAnd just ran out with that other fellaBaby I knew about it, I just didn't care
You just don't understand how much I love you do you?I'm here for youI'm not out to go out and cheat on you all nightJust like you did baby but that's all rightHey, I love you anywayAnd I'm still gonna be here for you 'till my dying day babyRight now, I'm just in so much pain babyCause you just won't come back to meWill you? Just come back to meYes baby my heart is lonelyMy heart hurts babyI'm feel pain tooBaby please...
Simplifying our lives means having the intelligence to examine what we usually consider to be indispensable pleasures and to check whether they do indeed genuinely improve our well-being.  Voluntary simplicity also goes hand in hand with wisdom:  by not aspiring to the unreasonable, we remain constantly aware of the fortunes of those in need today, as well as the well-being of future generations.--Matthieu Ricard, ALTRUISM