" He wrote: Tokyo is a city crisscrossed by trains, tied together with electric wire she shows her veins."
Chris Marker, "Sans Soleil"
Here I stand motionless for there is no need to move. Not now. The city breathes and her veins are flooded for seconds. Her heart beats now and then, just enough to keep her alive. Of the millions of paths that dwell inside her I think I forgot the one I had to take. I know. I could take any cab towards any part of her and think, "I'm here." But the truth is we are rarely were we are supposed to be. And as I grasp this new notion, I still stand motionless while life manifests all around me. I can look at the man with the briefcase and speculate where he is heading and maybe, just maybe, I might guess. But does that really make a difference? Aren't we all subjects to the same fate? Or I could look at that old lady, her expression covered with the ripples of time, and try to read the lines on her face like she were some old tree stump in the middle of nowhere. But I can only see that she also stands motionless, contemplating some piece of the city, some of its tissue, perhaps looking for her spent years.
And the list goes on as people flow through the cities veins. We are but small fragments of God's conscience and the city is one of his memory cells.
2 comments:
I was able to feel the instant, but still there is something that makes me wonder, and that is, lack of motion. Maybe state zero is some kind of enlightment.
PS A Dewey Quote from Malcom in the Middle, about trying to undesrtand God for us is like ants trying to understand humans:
..."Like me with the anthill in my backyard. I spent days watching the ants, trying to figure which ones are good, and which ones are bad, but they all jus looke like ants, so I started smiting all of them." "Well that's not--" "I was smitingthem with the garden hose, and with lighter fluid, and with the lawnmower, and to be perfectly honest, I think I went a little crazy with the shovel. Thos ants could have been praying to me all day, I wouldn't have heard them. There was nothing they could do about it" "But, I don't think--" "Really, it's the same with us. There's nothing we can do about anything either, so why worry about it? Hey, this is making me feel better." "Well that's good but--" "I guess all we can do is live our lives with as much kindness and decency as possible, and try not to dwell on God standing over us with a giant shovel."
I really liked the quote. And I think it goes perfectly well with what I posted. Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.
PS. I have to watch Malcolm in the Middle. I watched a few episodes and loved it. I'll try and buy the first season. Thanks again!
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