So this ultimately useless gimmick on the Microsoft website can enable you check the strength of your password. Mine is deemed of ‘medium ‘ strength. I consider it a lazy password, based on a very obvious element in my life and sometimes it does strike me I am foolish to be of the blase attitude of it not being a very serious issue. Of course its medium strength is reduced further by the fact two people in my life know my password and having only one they can have unfettered access to everything. The first reveal came out of necessity, a last minute trip to Boston and a desperate need for a place to stay all meant an email account had to be accessed. It was a great testament to our friendship that my mate gave me his password to me without hesitation over the phone and I equally reciprocated with mine. The second reveal came about when I didn’t realise I had insulted someone’s confidence in my trust in them, but I was quick to appease this by telling them, again it being a decision I didn’t need to think on.

There is a great ease to things when you can have such a level of trust in someone. Admittedly, I don’t see a natural progression to how it develops, we are far too complex a species to map something like that. The engaged couple I share a house with don’t know each others passwords for instance. Of course my mates being individuals that pretty much know all there is to know about me does of course help. Also, even did they decide to check out my email the results would be embarassingly uninteresting.

There is a far more metaphysical question here I feel of the beginning and end point of that territory that will always keep us individual and secretive no matter the strength of a relationship we form. Passwords almost act as a little microcosm for the great conflict of that oh so cynical mantra that we are all alone, pitted in a deadly battle with the human desire to have a shared experience. This territory of isolation I like to think gets reduced as we grown more mature and self confident. I would never claim those of us fully functioning will all accumulate into one land mass, but there is a wonderful cushioning effect to sharing that can create a huge realisation in the individual, reducing the feelings of isolation or secrecy that might come from self doubt or second guessing our place in a relationship. It’s worth the risk every once in a while to let people in, you can be uniquely working your way through an issue that will always be your own but also discover a common ground and achieve peace of mind.