"I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me
... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world.
Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much,
my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst...
...and then I remember to relax,
and stop trying to hold on to it,
and then it flows through me like rain
and I can't feel anything but gratitude
for every single moment
of my stupid little life...
You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure.
But don't worry...
You will someday."
-From American Beauty Script (at the end)
"When you stop seeing beauty, you start growing old"
U2. Summer Rain Lyrics.
I really like this end bit of the film. It captures the ? Abandonment of ? 'reason' as such when one 'sees' beauty. It's everywhere really. If you choose to look for it. Its not something that comes from the mind. Its a ? 'seeing' that comes from the heart. Or something. Anyway. Its not the ? Brain' that's sees this stuff. It is not an 'idea'. But you know when you have it. Like most really good things in life, -Very hard to describe.
There is also a quality of timelessness that I really like about this segment of the film. It has an 'air' of the poem by William Blake.
To see a World in a grain of sand,
And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour
Blake is one cool geezer. From early childhood he had visions of angels. He is buried very close to Old street station (Bunhill Fields Burial Ground, City Road) and you should go and see th grave if you happen to be in the neighborhood. Here is a website with some information about him and the grave.
"One of Blake's strongest objections to orthodox Christianity is that he felt it encouraged the suppression of natural desires and discouraged earthly joy."
(From wikipedia page about William Blake What a COOL guy. I LOVE his attitude to ? 'religion'. Right up my street!
About Me
- An Irish Friend of Bill
- I have recovered from the disease of Alcoholism. I believe there is only one person really,.. everybody. And that peace of mind is everything. -So treat your neighbor as you would treat yourself, because your neighbor IS yourself. I think most of recovery is what I would call common sense, but that learning to be ordinary is a true gift very few people acquire. My ambition is to accept everything unflinchingly, with compassion, and therefore be intrinsically comfortable in my own skin, no matter what. I am comfortable being uncomfortable and am willing to go to any lengths to improve my life. I believe the Big Book was divinely inspired, and is extraordinarily powerful. Unfortunately AA's best kept secret a lot of the time. (In my opinion). I just try to do what works, no matter what it is.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
American Beauty: "But it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world"
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4 comments:
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There is a lot of beauty and I try to surround myself with it as much as possible. I'm fortunate to live in a beautiful city where there is a lot of water. It helps soothe the soul.
Ohhhhh how I LOVE this movie, and the many, many messages. It is presented in a truthful glorius way.
I just wonder why we fight so hard to see beauty as misconstrued? Personal example, I have freckles, it is how God painted me yet I can find either ugliness in them or beautiness in them. Somehow I think many default to seeing the worse in things, cuz beauty is EVERYWHERE yes? But we want to all blend, to loose identity in one another.
I have a hard time taking it all in, the gift I have been given of life. I hold on tight, and try to be aware of the little moments of freedom.
Ohhh how I can watch this scene over and over again. Beautiful :)
I love that film too, I love the bit were the two 'mis fits' fall in love...
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