Lucius (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} luciusk) wrote,@ 2007-10-24 10:47:00 |
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Into the Wild
I saw "Into the Wild." I approached this movie from a Buddhist perspective, one which is aware of the illusion of self. "Alex" only breaks through this illusion in his dying moments, by that time its too late. He keeps cutting away layers of this illusion of self that is perpetuated by society by giving up the comfortable, conformist lifestyle of his parents, burning his money, traveling the roads, and going to Alaska. He has his moments of love and compassion, but also cowardly selfishness, in his search for the "self" which leaves no room for relationships with other people. But when you cut away everything to try to find this "self", you find it's empty.
I rebelled against my parents by majoring in Architecture, though I really wanted to go to art school, and yet I had been dependent on them, living in their house, until about 4 years ago, when I got my own apartment and then bought my own house. I'm still too close to them, and New York was an escape. In the past couple of months I've been reaching out, making myself available to others, after 4 years of living alone.
Like "Alex," I find that when I get some idea or some longing for something, I obsess over it and feel a compulsion to reach out and grab it whatever the cost. When I meet someone I like, I want to be with them all the time, even though I really should have patience and give them some space. And when they don't want to respond to or see me, I swing the other way and start to have negative emotions towards them.
It's a good movie though a bit long for one sitting, at nearly 2 hours 30 minutes. I find I can relate to this experience, but I took a different path from the one that "Alex" took. I'm still thinking about the movie and how it relates to my life, and I find no easy answers, no easy explanations. Every thought I have would need to be backed up with several paragraphs of context in order for me to be understood well enough so that there is no chance of misunderstanding.
Most of the when having conversations, we keep it on a superficial level, and hide away the deep pain and loneliness, because it's hard to explain in a few sentences. I'd really like to be able to talk on a deeper level, and I'm not afraid of death, of dying, since I've come to accept Death as my only true friend, the only one whom I know is always waiting for me, and will never fail.
I saw "Into the Wild." I approached this movie from a Buddhist perspective, one which is aware of the illusion of self. "Alex" only breaks through this illusion in his dying moments, by that time its too late. He keeps cutting away layers of this illusion of self that is perpetuated by society by giving up the comfortable, conformist lifestyle of his parents, burning his money, traveling the roads, and going to Alaska. He has his moments of love and compassion, but also cowardly selfishness, in his search for the "self" which leaves no room for relationships with other people. But when you cut away everything to try to find this "self", you find it's empty.
I rebelled against my parents by majoring in Architecture, though I really wanted to go to art school, and yet I had been dependent on them, living in their house, until about 4 years ago, when I got my own apartment and then bought my own house. I'm still too close to them, and New York was an escape. In the past couple of months I've been reaching out, making myself available to others, after 4 years of living alone.
Like "Alex," I find that when I get some idea or some longing for something, I obsess over it and feel a compulsion to reach out and grab it whatever the cost. When I meet someone I like, I want to be with them all the time, even though I really should have patience and give them some space. And when they don't want to respond to or see me, I swing the other way and start to have negative emotions towards them.
It's a good movie though a bit long for one sitting, at nearly 2 hours 30 minutes. I find I can relate to this experience, but I took a different path from the one that "Alex" took. I'm still thinking about the movie and how it relates to my life, and I find no easy answers, no easy explanations. Every thought I have would need to be backed up with several paragraphs of context in order for me to be understood well enough so that there is no chance of misunderstanding.
Most of the when having conversations, we keep it on a superficial level, and hide away the deep pain and loneliness, because it's hard to explain in a few sentences. I'd really like to be able to talk on a deeper level, and I'm not afraid of death, of dying, since I've come to accept Death as my only true friend, the only one whom I know is always waiting for me, and will never fail.
