by Cathy
“I’ll tell you a secret. Something they don’t teach
you in your temple.
The Gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal,
because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful
because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We
will never be here again.”- Achilles, Troy
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| Because we can all appreciate a visual when it comes to Brad Pitt as Achilles |
I had the pleasure of seeing this film again recently, thanks to my daughters' school curriculum and their study of Greek Mythology and the Trojan War. So I watched it with my kids. Yes, I realize there is abundant violence and a smattering of nudity, which I explained as such: "Honey, everyone slept naked back then. Why? Because they didn't have pajamas." However, we were quickly drawn past those distractions and got to the heart of the great story behind it - the lessons, the sacrifices, human empathy in the face of fame and glory.
This quote from Achilles drove home for me a thought I've had for a long time: There is a very fine line between living and dying. Just one moment, one second, can change your life or take your life. I've always been cognizant of this, especially, as I've driven past cemeteries.
We drive past these eerily silent resting places of people who were once as vibrant and full of life, hope and dreams as we are today, whizzing by with our music blaring, our voices singing, our kids laughing and our thoughts racing to what we get to do today. It's a fine metaphoric line and a fine figurative line - that fence which divides and defines. It's the fragility of luck that allows us to be on one side rather than the other, depending on how you see that proverbial glass of water.
I've come to realize that not only is there a fine line we walk between life and death, but in every other aspect of our lives we take for granted: a fine line between being healthy or sick; between having a job and losing it; between having a house and losing it; between having your loved ones and losing them; between landing an opportunity and just missing one that could potentially change your life.
We all walk these fine lines every day. If we keep ourselves in check about what we stand to lose in a given moment on a given day, yes, we will live in a sub-circle of fear, but one that is the sweetest of all fears. This is what Achilles was saying: We live with that notion that something can always be taken away, which makes everything more desperately real.
There is no joy to be had in something that you know you will always have and fittingly, take for granted. Included in this is our youth. Like many of you, I fret about getting old, day by day making out the lines on my face, the wrinkles around my eyes and the generally more haggard face that stares back at me in the mirror. Yet no matter how old we are, we are younger today than we will be tomorrow. I will try to keep this in mind myself, as vain thoughts will no doubt compete with my daily affirmations.
So, while this may appear as a gloom and doom message, interfering with the sparkling, promising new year we are in the throes of, it's cleverly disguised as a life affirming message. This message is part of my goals for the year: be positive, laugh, sing and dance more (preferably with my children), be more cognizant of those small moments with loved ones, live my life to the fullest my capabilities will allow and mostly, cherish it all.
This quote from Achilles drove home for me a thought I've had for a long time: There is a very fine line between living and dying. Just one moment, one second, can change your life or take your life. I've always been cognizant of this, especially, as I've driven past cemeteries.
 | |
| Safely from the confines of my car, I view this fence as the figurative line which we must all cross |
We drive past these eerily silent resting places of people who were once as vibrant and full of life, hope and dreams as we are today, whizzing by with our music blaring, our voices singing, our kids laughing and our thoughts racing to what we get to do today. It's a fine metaphoric line and a fine figurative line - that fence which divides and defines. It's the fragility of luck that allows us to be on one side rather than the other, depending on how you see that proverbial glass of water.
I've come to realize that not only is there a fine line we walk between life and death, but in every other aspect of our lives we take for granted: a fine line between being healthy or sick; between having a job and losing it; between having a house and losing it; between having your loved ones and losing them; between landing an opportunity and just missing one that could potentially change your life.
We all walk these fine lines every day. If we keep ourselves in check about what we stand to lose in a given moment on a given day, yes, we will live in a sub-circle of fear, but one that is the sweetest of all fears. This is what Achilles was saying: We live with that notion that something can always be taken away, which makes everything more desperately real.
There is no joy to be had in something that you know you will always have and fittingly, take for granted. Included in this is our youth. Like many of you, I fret about getting old, day by day making out the lines on my face, the wrinkles around my eyes and the generally more haggard face that stares back at me in the mirror. Yet no matter how old we are, we are younger today than we will be tomorrow. I will try to keep this in mind myself, as vain thoughts will no doubt compete with my daily affirmations.
So, while this may appear as a gloom and doom message, interfering with the sparkling, promising new year we are in the throes of, it's cleverly disguised as a life affirming message. This message is part of my goals for the year: be positive, laugh, sing and dance more (preferably with my children), be more cognizant of those small moments with loved ones, live my life to the fullest my capabilities will allow and mostly, cherish it all.
Let's make the most of this life, like we're gonna die young.
