Better two than one
Family experts say that having two children is better than just one. A lone child tends to be spoiled by parents and his or her nurturing spirit may not be developed since there’s no one, of his age, he can relate to.
I have a nerve disorder that causes my two hands to go numb at certain positions. When this happens, I can’t even carry a bag for a long time with one hand. I can’t pick up food with just one hand. Using two hands is always more productive than one hand.
It is a common show of endearment to kiss. In some countries like Europe, they do it more lavishly by kissing the right and left cheeks of the person they’re greeting. Two kisses can be more loving than one.
Though we can eat our food with just a fork, it’s more convenient to use both the spoon and fork. We can eat more and with gusto with two utensils than just one.
From their song “Two Become One”, the Spice Girls sang “Candle light and soul forever, a dream of you and me together…when two become one…”. That’s why people fall in love, stay together or get married. Love is sweeter when shared and dreams come true when achieved with another.
You can always hear in a wedding ceremony this line from the gospel of St. Mark, “… the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one.”
Article continues after this advertisementTwo things are better than one.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Holy Bible even suggests that three and not just two is better than one. Read in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Two or more is better than one.
But what about widows like me? Bereft of a husband for 17 years now, I can say being alone is tough. My girl friends envy me because I can decide or do things quickly without having to refer to a husband, no arguments, no fuss. But I always tell them to love their husbands no matter what. Two is always better than one. Though I enjoy the independence, it’s still very comforting and satisfying to have someone by your side, to cuddle up to his warmness at night, to have a hand to hold when your children have long flown the family coop.
There are times I wish we were two but before I get so mushy, God always reminds me that I am His bride, that He is the lover of my soul. What better partner can there be than God?
And so I may be alone but not lonely. I have learned to enjoy being alone by looking at ordinary situations in new and unfamiliar ways and in the light of God’s will. When I draw companionship with God, talk to Him and be a fool before Him, it’s the best deal I can get– more than two, three or even a multitude of people around me.
The point here is that we need more than ourselves to live. John Donne’s statement “No man is an island” has become an overused expression in all generations, but it IS true.
We are meant to be connected to other people, to depend on other people and be depended on. God didn’t order Abraham to live alone. Instead He said, “As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.”
Two heads are better than one. The more the merrier.
Doing things alone, thinking alone, carrying our burdens alone can be very stressful. It is not what God made us to be. First thing, He is always with us as our sounding board. Better to live with God than without God.
After God, we have our loved ones, our friends and neighbors. Move as one with other people instead of doing things only your way. Ecclesiastes said it very well: “If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.”
There is really nothing to lose if you open yourself up to others except fear, pain and loneliness. Give all these up and allow others to be part of your life. Two or more are better than one.
For my part, I have my loving God to fill in my solitary moments. If He gives me another person’s heart to unite with, why not? If not, no problemo. God and I – so much better than just me.
