He lived to be quite old, and good for him. The first Colombian and the 4th Latin American to win the Nobel Prize for literature. I know he meant for this quote to refer to Latin America, but I also think it reflects a lot on the experiences you should have, while seeing yourself as you truly are:
"A source of insatiable creativity, full of sorrow and beauty, of which this roving and nostalgic... Poets and beggars, musicians and prophets, warriors and scoundrels, all creatures of that unbridled reality, we have had to ask but little of imagination, for our crucial problem has been a lack of conventional means to render our lives believable."
I came across 100 Years of Solitude for the first time when my grandmother passed away years ago. I read it as a way to distract myself from the grief that comes from a death, like all of them, that's not anticipated. I gave the book to her husband, my grandfather, because while it impacted me I thought it would provide him with something words couldn't. I'm often not good at expressing those to others. I think it stuck with him, because even as he approaches 90, he lives like another Marquez quote:
"What matters in life is not what happens to you, but what you remember and how you remember it. There is always something left to love. It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old. They grow old because they stop pursuing dreams."
When people stop pursuing dreams, fear and hatred enter their lives. They become angry, little hobbits who start watching hate-filled channels about Obama ruining the world (or some other nonsense). You mustn't ever stop pursuing those dreams. They're all we have.
When I spoke with my grandfather over the holiday, he asked how life was going and I told him fine and he was OK with that, but always wants more for me and his other grand-kids and great grand-kids. He said, "Look at me, I've had it great for this long and I still have some time left. You're just getting started! Enjoy it, Grandsoohnn!"
Currently, I'm swinging back into the sunlight, where that yellow spout is pouring out its magic. I don't know what to say: I could write a poem, create a piece of art, get away with a loved one, spend time with those who make me laugh. I can't wait. Though all there is is now and it seems pretty new age-y, it's really the only way to be.
I fear giving up because, well, I was so close to quitting myself. There was a period I fairly recently when I really didn't want to leave the house or see people or even seesunlight.
Currently, I'm swinging back into the sunlight, where that yellow spout is pouring out its magic. I don't know what to say: I could write a poem, create a piece of art, get away with a loved one, spend time with those who make me laugh. I can't wait. Though all there is is now and it seems pretty new age-y, it's really the only way to be.
I fear giving up because, well, I was so close to quitting myself. There was a period I fairly recently when I really didn't want to leave the house or see people or even seesunlight.
Have you read the following? "Environmentalists are giving up and moving to Ireland to just ride out the ecological collapse." That, to me, seems so sad in more than just the face value. Much like the documentary, "Collapse."
Those people who try to build a wall, burn a bridge, and wait out the end lose so much. I was one of them and I think I did lose a lot. I lost the ability to make change happen, to see goals be accomplished, to return to the world more than what I received.
The most invincible power that moves the world is unrequited love. The word is used all the time. "Unrequited." Look it up in Miriam/Webster and you'll get the following: "1) not requited (I know, geez), 2) not reciprocated, 3) not returned in kind." Strangely, that's the juice that powers the world. This isn't the tummy-ache, puppy-dog unrequited love. That's just the one we've been trained to see most easily.
Those people who try to build a wall, burn a bridge, and wait out the end lose so much. I was one of them and I think I did lose a lot. I lost the ability to make change happen, to see goals be accomplished, to return to the world more than what I received.
The most invincible power that moves the world is unrequited love. The word is used all the time. "Unrequited." Look it up in Miriam/Webster and you'll get the following: "1) not requited (I know, geez), 2) not reciprocated, 3) not returned in kind." Strangely, that's the juice that powers the world. This isn't the tummy-ache, puppy-dog unrequited love. That's just the one we've been trained to see most easily.
Think of people who love tenets in books or ideas that have yet to be realized. The programmer loves to see their code come together, the writer loves to see words bring a story to life. When a love for something creates something valuable to more than its creator, you're giving a blessing to the world.
That unrequited love for what hasn't yet *become* strives for more art, more creation, more knowledge, and more love. These are the things that fill up lives and fill the world. I'm going to go burn some sage to get out the demons and then I'm going to take the path of most experience.
The K-I-D's A-OK
That unrequited love for what hasn't yet *become* strives for more art, more creation, more knowledge, and more love. These are the things that fill up lives and fill the world. I'm going to go burn some sage to get out the demons and then I'm going to take the path of most experience.
The K-I-D's A-OK
No comments:
Post a Comment