And then of course, there are times when reason doesn't help
and you have to-- this is sort of about having
to accept disagreement as part of the relationship.
It's called "Summer At The Lake".
"Let's not argue today about the temperature of the wind that's
blowing across the lake.
Let's agree that for me, it's warm
given the genes I may have inherited from forebearers who
thrived in Lapland, while for you, given
what may have been your tropical bloodlines, it's chilly.
I'll be back in a minute with your sweater.
As for the man far out in a rowboat,
let's agree that for me, he appears
happy to be alone with his thoughts,
enjoying the kind of solitude I longed for during my boyhood
in a crowded tenement.
While for you, given your girlhood
on a lonely farm in Nebraska, he seems
to be aching for a friend.
Instead of lamenting the distance between us,
we ought to welcome it as a spur to dialogue
denied to couples always in harmony.
All we need to do is to view our perspectives
as two halves of the globe or two pieces
of a puzzle of many pieces.
Or let's imagine that instead of having two apples to cook with,
we have the piquant duo of apple and onion.
If you don't like my metaphors, you
can offer your own while we stroll this evening
along the lake shore.
I'd like to get your response to my theory
that the waves may be speaking to us, repeating one word again
and again.
The word will be able to translate
as soon as we both succeed in focusing our attention.
Then you can share your theory that the waves could
speak to us far more clearly if they wanted to,
that they mutter and mumble out of resentment.
We haven't embraced their view of life
as an endless ebbing and flowing, a breaking and falling
back.
By the time we get back to the cabin,
the first star should be glimmering.
Time for my nightly regret.
They aren't closer.
So any blessings they shower on us
would have a good chance of falling on target.
Time for your regret.
They aren't more distant.
So you could be more confident their designs have
to do with each other only, not with us."