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Why Write, or Do Anything? Why. It is the essence of man. We be the only critters charged with the responsibility of providing our own answer to that. It defines who we are, and why we write, or why we do anything for that matter........
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Why Write, or Do Anything? Why. It is the essence of man. We be the only critters charged with the responsibility ofproviding our own answer to that. It defines who we are, and why we write, or why we do anything for that matter. It is the basis of philosophy. From Socrates to Heidegger, theone question has always been why. Yet like criminals on the lam, most of us spend our
whole lives running away from that confrontation. We do anything and everything to avoid it, at all costs. We are literally scared to death that we won’t be able to answer thatquestion, or that more than likely we’ll get it wrong if we even attempt it.
And it’s a lonely chasm, believe me. I’ve spent a lifetime standing before the precipice contemplating the infinite finality of non-being by one’s own doing. Scary stuff, to be sure. You don’t wanna go there. You don’t wanna be there and get it wrong. And I don’t blame you. But what other choice do we have? If we fail to measure up, we can seek forgiveness in the eyes of our peers. John at the bar is a friend of mine, he works at the factory and shoots a pretty good game of pool. But he drinks too much because...well, maybe he always wanted something more than that. Wanted his life, his mortal existence to mean something more than that.
And we can seek comfort in the eyes of our loved ones. Surely they will love and forgiveus for all our shortcomings, unless they’re a part of it. Unless our most sacred loving kin are a part of how we measure our failures. Don’t go there, there’s no coming back. Believe me. Have another drink and ask the Lord to forgive you for all your sins. It’s a
comforting thought. A great escape, as Kierkegaard would put it. You might not want to go beyond that. But there’s that question still, always in front of you like a mirror. How do you hide from it?
Never, and I’ll repeat that, never seek comfort in your own eyes. They will always seeyour shortcomings, your failures, your truth. Don’t even look there. Be deceived, by anymeans necessary, whether it’s thinking you’re as good as your peers, or whether you decide that it’s all meaningless anyway. Don’t ever try to measure yourself by your own
standards. That is to stand before the precipice with no way back or forward. No way out, as Sartre would say.
But there is a way, and it’s not so narrow and not so difficult. Or maybe it’s just that I’ve been doing it for so long now. Maybe it’s because I’ve been there and come back, made itall the way back. Not my doing, I’ll assure you. I’m not big enough or tough enough for that. But I’ve had some pretty good allies along the way. People who lifted me up when
there was no way back for sure, no way out of the chasm alone. That was them what did it, not me.
But back to the way. The way is a path, the journey they so often speak of. It is not a door that we simply open, simply guess right that one time and thus reveal all the treasures and truths imaginable. It is the steps we take to and from every day. It is the answer to the question why.
Mikael Covey likes to make scathing political comments at The Cherry Orchard. He’s just finished his novel aimed at stopping the war, all wars. Now if someone will just publish it... For more literary opinions, visit his blog: here.
Last update : 11-01-2008 19:52
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The Naked Opinion 
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