Lonely No More

"This letter is to thank you for transforming our home into a happy home full of laughter within weeks. " - Richard.

Ooooh Oooooh Oooooh Ooooh
I ain't lonely any more
I ain't lonely any more
I ain't lonely any more
I ain't lonely any more
(With apologies to the original poet Rob Thomas)
Here is the column which is virtually written for me by Richard (name changed to protect identity).
Richard is rich.
The rich and the successful are perceived as never alone. They are always surrounded by the hangers on, relatives and friends. But it is not the complete truth. Not being alone is different from not being lonely.
I received a rather long letter few months back. I could see the undercurrent of self pity in the note.
Here are the excerpts:
I am in the business of selling automobile parts. My elder son Danny is a software engineer and daughter Jennifer is a struggling playwright and actress. My wife Sylvia runs a small but successful travel business. By the grace of God we do not have any monetary problems. My business is very good. My wife too is happy with her business. Danny has a good thing in his chosen career. The younger daughter does have some problems but that is because of the kind of line she has chosen. A career in the theatre is very difficult but we are supportive. Her career is not our worry…
Our problem is absence of an active social life…
Of course, some of our relatives do visit us and often invite us to their homes. But that is not what I want. My children too are not interested in these relatives who are either boring or parasite or both.
We want the company of interesting, intelligent, successful people. We want the people who know how to enjoy life, who can make interesting conversationalists and who can be good friends. We want happy face around us.
I want my house to be full of laughter. Parties, dancing, outings, traveling…
It gets a little tiring to be by ourselves.
…Sometimes, while introspecting I suspect that there might be a problem with us. May be we are too self- centered…may be we are not interesting…I do not know.
…It isn' t as if we are not friendly. I have had my share of friends in the past but as I went on becoming successful and busier in business they drifted away. My wife too feels the same way. But she wants to settle for her relatives as the sole social life. Danny is an introvert but Jennifer is a very warm and outgoing person. I am quite worried about my son and his loneliness….
Can Feng Shui help?
Richard
The photographs of the family didn' t indicate any hint of unhappiness. What was going wrong?
I never sit in judgment. I dislike blame game.
My answer was Feng Shui and the harmony of the element along with an extra stress on removing the flaws from the Relationship corner and using the Earth and Fire to strengthen it.
I also noticed that though his was a large duplex apartment, the space opposite his main door was limited. You virtually walked into a wall as soon as you opened the door. The same thing was happening in reverse order with the door of the apartment on the upper floor. I consider this to be a block each in the relationships among the family as well as the relationship with the outside world.
I forgot him and his family once the Feng Shui consultation was completed. But his e-mail that I received last week revived the memories.
Hello Mohan,
This letter is to thank you for transforming our home into a happy home full of laughter within weeks. In the attachment are some pictures of the bash we had recently…notice the mood of Danny.
The changes Feng Shui changes brought began with your paintings slowly and subtly.
They started with Jennifer and the growth in her career. She wanted to develop contacts in theatre so she organized a small party and invited some people who, she thought, could be useful to her. It was a friendly group of serious, theatre people.
Danny met a beautiful girl at the party. The cupid struck. Both are in love. These things have brought gaiety in our house. We too are drawn towards the joyous, youthful group.
A lot is happening in our social life…
The feeling of loneliness has disappeared.