In a society that often equates relationship status with personal fulfillment, Alejandro Betancourt offers a refreshing counternarrative in his thoughtful essay “Table for Three: Finding Joy in the Space Between.” As an entrepreneur and single father of twins, Betancourt explores what it means to find completeness outside traditional relationship frameworks.

Beyond Society’s Blueprint

“February makes everyone think about relationships, forcing us to map our lives against some standard happiness blueprint,” Alejandro Betancourt observes. “Walking through any store this time of year, you’re confronted with a particular vision of love: couples, pairs, perfect halves finding each other.”

But what if completeness isn’t found in another person? What if it’s something we cultivate within ourselves? These questions form the foundation of Betancourt’s philosophy on contentment.

Wholeness, Not Halfness

The essay’s title—”Table for Three”—references Alejandro Betancourt’s regular restaurant experience with his twins, where hosts often calibrate slightly when he says “three” instead of the more conventional couple’s “two.” This small interaction symbolizes his broader experience navigating life outside expected norms.

“What if some of us are whole alone?” he asks. “What if some of us have built full and joyous lives, just not in the way Hallmark typically portrays?”

This perspective challenges the common notion that we’re all “halves” seeking completion in another person. Instead, Betancourt suggests that genuine contentment begins with recognizing our inherent wholeness—something that relationships can enhance but not create.

The Journey to Self-Sufficiency

Alejandro Betancourt’s perspective wasn’t formed overnight. “I used to be a person who couldn’t imagine life without a partner,” he admits. In his twenties, he was “terrified of being alone with my thoughts, convinced that someone out there would finally make me feel complete.”

His evolution from needing external completion to feeling whole alone wasn’t a dramatic epiphany but “a slow dawning” accelerated by becoming a father to twins and realizing that “completeness isn’t something someone else gives you; it’s something you build, day by day, choice by choice.”

Redefining Contentment

For Alejandro Betancourt, contentment isn’t about having or not having a relationship—it’s about cultivating a rich inner life and meaningful connections of all kinds.

“The silence that used to feel deafening becomes contemplative,” he writes of his journey. “When I manage to sleep alone, the empty side of the bed becomes space to stretch out. My solo decisions become expressions of self-trust.”

This redefinition extends to how he parents. He’s “more present with my kids because I’m not constantly scanning the horizon for someone to complete our family picture.” His contentment creates space for more authentic connections.

A Both/And Perspective

Importantly, Alejandro Betancourt doesn’t position his philosophy as anti-relationship. He’s not “against relationships” but has “found a more profound truth: life isn’t about maintaining some constant state of bliss. It’s about being present for all of it.”

His approach acknowledges that relationships can be wonderful additions to a full life—”like how you might add sprinkles to an already perfect ice cream cone: entirely optional, potentially delightful, but not at all necessary for enjoyment.”

The Universal Application

While Alejandro Betancourt’s perspective emerges from his specific experience as a single father, his insights apply broadly. Whether in a relationship or not, his philosophy invites us to examine our assumptions about what creates fulfillment.

“Life isn’t about finding your other half or maintaining perpetual happiness,” he concludes. “It’s about embracing your wholeness, riding the waves of joy, and sharing that authentic experience with whoever and whatever comes along.”

In a culture that often treats singleness as a temporary condition to be remedied, Betancourt offers a more empowering narrative—one where completeness comes from within, and relationships enhance rather than define our sense of self.

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