Friday, August 06, 2004
A blog about life, death and everything in between
Wow, and after the title, you'd expect a long blog. This is from an Emir Kusturica movie, White Cat and Black Cat, 45 minutes of laugh after 45 minutes of sleep :)
As I said, I am reading Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy again, and I managed to understand bits of the third book, The Farthest Shore. The main plot is simple, a wizard has finally found a way to come back to life after death, and he is exchanging his gift of eternal life, with theirs, whatever it may be, painting, singing, magic; just anything. After the deal, they know how to come back from the land of the dead, and hold absolutely no interest for the life.
One of the most interesting points of the setting is also the wall between the land of the dead and the living. The dead can't cross the wall (obviously) and from the livings, only the mages can go past it.
What I am thinking, after reading the books, is that not only the dead are held by the wall, but also the living. The wall, to my great surprise (I had problems with the symbols), is not simply a wall, but also symbolises our fear of death, being the only obstacle between us, the healty, needy, happy, ambitious livings, and the state of being nothing. Aunt Ursula, by slowly attacking the wall in every books, tells us that we will eventually die (well that's not something new :) and we should accept it. When we understand that our time is not endless and when our lives are not ruled by the fear of death, only then we are truly free.
I know what you're thinking. (Actually, I hardly know what I am thinking, but anyway, let's keep going) I said that we will eventually die and that it's not something new, but is it really not? I mean, we know that we will die, yes, but we know it in an intellectual sense of dying, we don't even really consider it, we say "yes I know someday I'll die" but we rarely feel it, maybe only after a life threathing experience, and it's effects are rarely what it must be. The most meaningful experience in our lives, and we give to it less thought than a book, movie, or a blog.
You will die. Can you imagine?
Ursula LeGuin has a proposition. She says that, in order to be truly free, lead our lives fully, we have to be aware that we will die. It is widely known that, our biggest flaw as humans is that we understand something's value after it's lost. Well, this time, there is no second chance, enjoy.
How do you think your death will be like?
Thinking about our deaths is not an easy thing. What matters is that we should be aware of it, that's all. We always knew that we would die, but we have to feel it. Feel it deep in our guts, if that's what's necessary. Feel it, accept it, use it as a driving force in our lives. And that would probably make Aunt Ursula happy :)
The blog ends here, but I feel like I should admit many things, most of the above are nothing but what I've thought after reading The Earthsea Trilogy, so they're mostly the echo of the author's books. I really enjoyed them, especially when I thought I understood them, but this place is not named "the mild bay of disinterest" without a good reason, and it is that I am never ever really moved by anything of this kind, at least not for a long time. If we lived as long as we thought, I would live eternally :)
As I said, I am reading Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy again, and I managed to understand bits of the third book, The Farthest Shore. The main plot is simple, a wizard has finally found a way to come back to life after death, and he is exchanging his gift of eternal life, with theirs, whatever it may be, painting, singing, magic; just anything. After the deal, they know how to come back from the land of the dead, and hold absolutely no interest for the life.
One of the most interesting points of the setting is also the wall between the land of the dead and the living. The dead can't cross the wall (obviously) and from the livings, only the mages can go past it.
What I am thinking, after reading the books, is that not only the dead are held by the wall, but also the living. The wall, to my great surprise (I had problems with the symbols), is not simply a wall, but also symbolises our fear of death, being the only obstacle between us, the healty, needy, happy, ambitious livings, and the state of being nothing. Aunt Ursula, by slowly attacking the wall in every books, tells us that we will eventually die (well that's not something new :) and we should accept it. When we understand that our time is not endless and when our lives are not ruled by the fear of death, only then we are truly free.
I know what you're thinking. (Actually, I hardly know what I am thinking, but anyway, let's keep going) I said that we will eventually die and that it's not something new, but is it really not? I mean, we know that we will die, yes, but we know it in an intellectual sense of dying, we don't even really consider it, we say "yes I know someday I'll die" but we rarely feel it, maybe only after a life threathing experience, and it's effects are rarely what it must be. The most meaningful experience in our lives, and we give to it less thought than a book, movie, or a blog.
You will die. Can you imagine?
Ursula LeGuin has a proposition. She says that, in order to be truly free, lead our lives fully, we have to be aware that we will die. It is widely known that, our biggest flaw as humans is that we understand something's value after it's lost. Well, this time, there is no second chance, enjoy.
How do you think your death will be like?
Thinking about our deaths is not an easy thing. What matters is that we should be aware of it, that's all. We always knew that we would die, but we have to feel it. Feel it deep in our guts, if that's what's necessary. Feel it, accept it, use it as a driving force in our lives. And that would probably make Aunt Ursula happy :)
The blog ends here, but I feel like I should admit many things, most of the above are nothing but what I've thought after reading The Earthsea Trilogy, so they're mostly the echo of the author's books. I really enjoyed them, especially when I thought I understood them, but this place is not named "the mild bay of disinterest" without a good reason, and it is that I am never ever really moved by anything of this kind, at least not for a long time. If we lived as long as we thought, I would live eternally :)
# posted by darcy @ 10:40 AM 
