Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Power of Three

More thoughts to wrap up my current understanding of Hetaira (see the page):
Hetairas should not marry. They should live together - three is a good number - so that they can care for each other and their community. If there are three, then one can be on, one off, and the other not on but caring for the other two: listening, cooking, doing laundry, being there for both of them. I thought of this idea recently when I recalled reading in the book "Ringworld" (about 25 years ago) how the main character met a member of a race that had a technology failure and was no longer spacefaring. He met a woman who said that she had been a crew member on starships that were gone for years of ship time on trading missions that took hundreds of years of ground time. How many on the ships, he asked? Thirty six. How many women? Three. So it became obvious why the women were aboard, especially after he experienced her considerably developed skills.
Was it not said that Witches tend to associate or live in threes? (Or alone, but they don't seem to marry.) The idea of Witches is a cultural denigration of Hetaira, an attack. But if Hetairas lived in threes, could this not be resentment, of people who chose to live in balance when most others did not?
For myself, I find that I have tried to live with people so as to support and care for them in these ways: cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, listening, touching (as allowed), showing my affection and interest - 'indiscriminately'. I see this by looking back on my life. I did it because it arose out of the Hetaira aspect of my nature, and now I can understand my own behavior. Interestingly, I am able to live with other people in very trying circumstances, because I am Hetaira and compliant. My culturally denounced tendencies are my strengths in relationship.

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