Contentment

What makes two people fit together so well? The fundamental unit of human existence is not of unitary cardinality, but dual. We think in twos. The fundamental marital unit of human society is a pair. The typical family unit also has a pair of children. Since parents are a pair, so are grandparents.

We often pity those who are single, whether through design or through happenstance. We revel in the joy of company, if only when we have found the company we can revel in joy with.

History is dotted with examples of a pair working in synchronity during their progress through the world. The pairs are sometimes romantic - Romeo and Juliet, Jodha and Akbar, Cleopatra and Marc Anthony - and sometimes platonic - Bonnie and Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Akbar and Birbal.

But the pair is always showcased. We are exhuberant in our celebration of two-ness. The President and the Vice President in the United States. Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi in India. Nicolas Sarkozky and Carla Bruni in France.

So again, what makes two such people fit together so well? Do they have complementary egos, that fit into each others jagged edges so perfectly that they never grate against each other? Or do they experience those grinding moments, and simply chose to ignore them in pursuit of happiness, friendship and love?

This is an important question. For if people really don't need to be perfect for each other to start with, then potential is enough to justify experimenting with any relationship. If they have to be perfect from the very beginning, not even the greatest sacrifices will cut away the friction to comfortable functioning.

I chose to believe that the first is true. That if one will not, two cannot fight. That a little compassion and a dash of understanding can overcome a lot. That love can bind two people together even if they have mis-matching emotional states or positions in the race of life.

That is why we are so often shown that love can reach across backgrounds, races, age, education, experience, personality, and even nature. That is why the greatest love stories of all time, and the most famous friendships of history have all had their share of imcompatible lovers, of unlikely friends.

And that is why I am content today. There is someone out there for me. And for everyone, for every needed role in life. No matter how I change, there will always be someone or the other, who will be able to understand, and be able to care.

I am more fortunate than others, I have friends, I have a wonderful companion for life. I already have those pillars of support that millions keep searching for. And I am reassured, that despite all the un-alluring experiences of my life, now the circle has turned its full turn.

What was that line?

"For I know that everything I really need, I already have, and what I lack will be given to me, when I am best ready to receive it..."