The three women talked about various stages of life. About how they had, or had not been prepared for whatever turn life had taken. They talked of nights of love, nights of fear, nights of pain, and nights of happiness. Some of these nights had been shared, and others were recounted with great detail, sending shrieks of laughter or soothing remarks into the space between them. The women talked for a long time; the air eventually becoming still around them, the city noises seeming further and further away from their private conversation. After a long silence she began to speak. She seemed nervous yet relieved. The wind blew across her face, her hair distorting her features as she revealed her musings.
“People have come and gone in my life. With them I’ve been sometimes reckless, sometimes prudent. I’ve sometimes been able to dream as I wished, and sometimes have had to guard my dreams close. They have all left a different impact on my life….but I have rarely been ready for the way they would challenge my perspective…”
For the next few hours the girls laughed and cried together as contemplations of life and love danced around their heads. Questioning the impacts of the passing of people through their lives and confronting the force that circumstance plays, left them pensive and quietly restless. Bursts of silent agitation crept into their voices as they debated their ability to govern their own lives and gain the most from their experiences.
“How much of our story is dictated by others?” that first woman finally asked. “How much can we gain from someone’s presence in our life if we are unknowingly unable to understand the impact they can have?” After a few moments of silence, another replied, “You take what you can from the pieces of humanity that you encounter and together we’ll all move through life.” The first woman considered this for a second and then smiled. “I’m ready this time,” she said.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Land of in between
An interesting land of in between; where grief seems just around the corner and somehow ever present at the same time, where love seeps from our bodies in laughter and smiles, where we confront and accept the pain in the same instant. We have always lived together, but it has never been truer than in this time. We have always felt one another’s pain, but it has never been truer than in this time. The realization that there is so much to take from right now, so much still to gain. Wanting you to see me as I am. Wanting to be all that I am, and learn from all that you are. Wanting to laugh every second that we share.
This land of in between offers all of these things. Reality seems halted and yet it continues harshly onward. Time hovers in this land of after and before, as we find our dreams for the first time, as we confront those things which have always scared us. We feel alive in this land, and united together. We are going different places, but we finally go together. We continue in our own ways, stumbling, yet carrying along the way a new strength.
This land of in between is lonely from afar, as little battles are easily hidden by distance. I have my own, as they have theirs, and then we reunite once again in love. It is true though, spirits are forever intertwined, forever woven through stories and memories. Do you know, little one, how powerful this is? Do you know what force this has given you? Hopefully you will realize one day, hopefully we all will.
This land of in between offers all of these things. Reality seems halted and yet it continues harshly onward. Time hovers in this land of after and before, as we find our dreams for the first time, as we confront those things which have always scared us. We feel alive in this land, and united together. We are going different places, but we finally go together. We continue in our own ways, stumbling, yet carrying along the way a new strength.
This land of in between is lonely from afar, as little battles are easily hidden by distance. I have my own, as they have theirs, and then we reunite once again in love. It is true though, spirits are forever intertwined, forever woven through stories and memories. Do you know, little one, how powerful this is? Do you know what force this has given you? Hopefully you will realize one day, hopefully we all will.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Content to just sit and listen
He wore almost all his possessions around his neck but walked with no sense of burden. The straps criss-crossing his chest seemingly holding him together as opposed to weighing him down.
What connections did he have to the stories we told one another? Critically I would say very few...yet phrases from his mouth conjured images of a far away time of stability and hope. As the three of us sat on the couch I watched him. The way he moved and spoke was different then I had seen before. He displayed personality and individual thought; everything that before had been shadowed by the cloak we all gave him.
It all made me wonder how he got here. What could have possibly happened to his man to produce the homeless person before me, capable of speaking to a total stranger; making comparisons between our lives so superficial and yet all he had to give. I listened, transfixed by every word. I focused my concentration as if on a child describing something they had discovered about the world. But a child has limited glimpses of this world. This man has met hundreds of people, done hundreds of things, yet he sat before me in a confusing state of limbo. All innocence gone but so ignorant (or oblivious or not caring) about the society around him.
Where does someone, such as this man, belong? In the land of civilized children there is no room for his profane crudeness. In the land of civilized adults there is no room for his unknowing inattention to the rule book of society's norms.
And so he comes and sits on the couches of society and he adds his two cents when given the right encouragement. As he spoke I felt as if listening to something profound, though an outsider listening in may not have agreed. What he gave me came from all that he had to give, and I felt content to just sit and listen.
What connections did he have to the stories we told one another? Critically I would say very few...yet phrases from his mouth conjured images of a far away time of stability and hope. As the three of us sat on the couch I watched him. The way he moved and spoke was different then I had seen before. He displayed personality and individual thought; everything that before had been shadowed by the cloak we all gave him.
It all made me wonder how he got here. What could have possibly happened to his man to produce the homeless person before me, capable of speaking to a total stranger; making comparisons between our lives so superficial and yet all he had to give. I listened, transfixed by every word. I focused my concentration as if on a child describing something they had discovered about the world. But a child has limited glimpses of this world. This man has met hundreds of people, done hundreds of things, yet he sat before me in a confusing state of limbo. All innocence gone but so ignorant (or oblivious or not caring) about the society around him.
Where does someone, such as this man, belong? In the land of civilized children there is no room for his profane crudeness. In the land of civilized adults there is no room for his unknowing inattention to the rule book of society's norms.
And so he comes and sits on the couches of society and he adds his two cents when given the right encouragement. As he spoke I felt as if listening to something profound, though an outsider listening in may not have agreed. What he gave me came from all that he had to give, and I felt content to just sit and listen.
Right at the start
Welcome to E's blog, 'Life...as told by E.' Here you will find observations of life and its individuals, written in an attempt to rediscover the passion, beauty, and complexity of the relationships around us. You thinkings and comments are welcome.
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