Sunday, January 29, 2006

Being in the Beginning

". . .But our most frequent obstacle to experiencing the fullness of life, which I have suffered many times, is the hesitancy that keeps us from being either fully alone with life or fully alone with each other.

Being half anywhere is the true beginning of loneliness."
- Mark Nepo

12 comments:

kris said...

This made my heart hurt a little.

Krisco said...

Great quote. Again.

ACTORSITE said...

Just looking at blogs today and found yours. I like it!I especially like the photo of the cat walking in front of those German Shepards, now THATS confidence!...Can I borrow it for my blog???...take care, Bruno

Nihilistic said...

Loneliness is not always a bad thing...To endure it helps us to enjoy the company of others even more!

Mr. Rodacre said...

I have just read this half a dozen times, and I have to say, I am not quite sure what to make of it.

He's saying that we need to be either fully alone with life or fully alone with each other in order to experience fullness in life? That if I am only half alone with life or half alone with each other I begin the road to loneliness?

It would seem that either of those propositions in their fullness would lead to loneliness anyway... Although being alone and loneliness are not synonymous. And it is possible to be alone together and still feel fulfilled.
But it is just as likely that you can be together and feel utterly alone.

I agree that it is important to embrace the here and now and to live fully in each moment (not that it is by any means easy...) so is he saying that by not being here now we are creating loneliness?

I suspect that fullness in life is achieved by a balance of alone and together. This whole half business is ridiculous. Not everything is so black and white. Although that's just my opinion - I could be wrong.

I am puzzled. But it makes me think. And thinking is good.

This is why I like you.

Poz Mikey said...

Where do you come up with these amazing quotes?

Sizzle said...

i am seriously telling you guys to buy the book. it is so awesome!

"The Book of Awakening" Mark Nepo

Bill said...

My take on it is that if you're going to be alone, be alone. If you are going to be with another, be with them. As a general rule, people hedge their bets and because they do, they never fully experience the person or situation before them.

Also, loneliness is not aloneness. They are quite different. (Meaning, the former sucks, the latter is a great state to experience.)

Anonymous said...

The second quote totally rings true to me -- I've never understood doing anything halfway -- and...well, I agree. (profound, I know)

Bill said...

Loneliness is the most terrifying prison. It’s the one that seems most difficult to escape from – it often seems inescapable. The odd thing is, it’s also the prison most easily escaped from since the doors are never locked. You simply walk out.

It’s the belief that the prison exists that allows it to exist. I’m always amazed at how easy it is to meet new people, how easy it is to make the sense of loneliness vanish. But I’m also amazed at how easy it is to get caught in that prison of loneliness and feel there is no way out.

(But I don’t think the quote is about loneliness.)

Mr. Rodacre said...

Bill, you are a very wise man.

Bill said...

Wise? If I were wise my life wouldn't be tyrannized by a damn cat!

(And I talk/write a better life than I actually manage to live. I should have a talk show. Or write a book and show up on Oprah. Then show up again for a dressing down.)

:-)