Time
will wait for no man, but no man should find himself waiting in time. Whoso
must be unhappy, un-dignified, and unimportant in the breadth and scope of
their adventure through life? Surroundings of myth perforate man’s
subconscious, leaving not traces, not remnants, but imprints upon the “who” of
who I am. What better imprint upon the soul’s entirety than the comfort of
ancestral knowledge passed from mouth to hand to heart that allows a higher
transcendence into the brief glimpse of the world that prefaces all of our
existences in this brief moment in time. Full and utter embracement of this
will expose a bright world that, formerly, seemed to be cast in shadow.
It
not that mythology is a lie, but rather a self-evident truth of human
explanation of the unexplainable. Where creativity surely trumps hypocritical
emotions. Where a milky bowl of sweet sustenance can contain thousands of years
of history, a demystified mystery that perplexes those with eyes firmly shut. Ha!
How we snicker at their ignorance. Ha… but all the while others laugh at ours. If
Dr. Sexton has taught us one thing, it is that we all have the key to our lives;
the matter of finding that key though leads one to a life of searching. Ho! Do
not sigh in vain at this quest though, it is the quest Homer and Plato,
Shakespeare and Milton, it is the quest of those who do not merely accept the
acceptable, they strive for the acceptance of the unacceptable. They are the
twelfth man of the field. The man scourged for heresy and treason. They are
ones who say no in the face false surety. The ones who know that truth is never
a certainty. Robert Fulgham said it best when he said: ““I believe that
imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history -
dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience -
laughter is the cure for grief – and love is stronger than death.”
Myth is central to knowing how the
world and us coincide in such chaotic harmony. It is the entropy that brings
the fiery whispers of biasness to a room temperature roar. That anyways, is
what I have learned. I leave off with this final parting thought from Philosopher and film maker Jason Silva-
“Perhaps the greatest existential bummer of all is
entropy. And I was really struck by this, because perhaps that's why, when
we're in love, we're also kind of sad. There's a sadness to the ecstasy.
Beautiful things sometimes can make us a little sad. And it's because what they
hint at is the exception, a vision of something more, a vision of a hidden
door, a rabbit hole to fall through, but a temporary one. And I think,
ultimately, that is the tragedy. That is why love simultaneously fills us with
melancholy. That's why sometimes I feel nostalgic over something I haven't lost
yet, because I see its transience. And so how does one respond to this? Do we
love harder? Do we squeeze tighter? Or do we embrace the Buddhist creed of no
attachment? Do we pretend not to care that everything and everyone we know is
going to be taken away from us?
And I don't know if I can
accept that. I think I more side with the Dylan Thomas quote that says, I will
not go quietly into that good night, but instead rage against the dying of the
light. I think that we defy entropy and impermanence with our films and our
poems. I think we hold onto each other a little harder and say,
I will not let go. I do
not accept the ephemeral nature of this moment.
I'm
going to extend it forever."
That, anyway, is what I have learned...
