we are none of us alone...
----
We are none of us alone
even as we exhale it is inhaled by others
the light that shines upon me shines upon my neighbor as well
in this way everything is connected to everything else
In this way I am connected to my friend even as I am connected to my enemy
In this way there is no difference between me and my friend
In this way there is no difference between me and my enemy
We are none of us alone
----
i am absolutely taken with a new show on nbc called "life". if you haven't watched it, do yourself a favor and start. on the surface, it's nothing more than a quirky crime drama but as you get to know the main character - charlie crews - you realize the show (and it's writing) is way deeper than just that. crews' dialog is peppered with zen or zen-like sayings that cut through rhetoric and bullshit with some wonderful universal truths... if you or the other characters are open to really hearing them. sometimes it's difficult for even crews to accept the zen sayings that come out of his mouth - a dichotomy that i love and i think is mirrored in all of us as we try to navigate the murky moral waters of our day-to-day.
this particular poem/saying/what-have-you really hit home for me. and it's started to generate an interesting discourse on the internets - just google the opening line.
my reaction to it is like this... the level of disconnection i feel from the world - whether by circumstance or choice - has fueled my search these past few years to find the ways in which i actually do fit into the world... in which i really am connected... in which we all are connected. through shared experience, joys, tragedies, fears, needs we all experience the existence of the shared human condition - which is powerful like nothing else. combine it with a little radiohead and you have a formula for quite the lasting impression.
i don't know if the sayings come from the mind of a writer or are lifted from zen or buddhist texts, but my hat goes off to the writers responsible for this character. it's comforting to know that even a random show on monday night can remind me of how i fit in to the scheme of things.
2 Comments:
I love this theme of everything-is-connected... I reckon it's little moments like this, where you realise it's all linked somehow, that punctuate the everyday mundanity with a bit of a little thrill, or the sense of reassurance (illusionary as it may be) that you're not just a lump of organic matter floating through a meaningless abyss.
Will be keeping my eye out for this "life" show too!
I watch Life as it comes out on screen since episode 1 season 1 and i really like it. i even bought the Allan W. Watts book, the way of zen that charlie crews read while doing his time in jail. And it´s awesome....besides the show, i advice you to read the book. it´s quite short and easy going actually. Greetings!
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