I began this post with the paragraph below, hoping to later casually mention that its inspiration was the movie Once, which I saw late last night. Feeling less eloquent than ever, I'm not going to expand on it with a review, but -- while I very nearly hated the movie while watching it -- the more I think about it, the better I love it. I can't stop listening to the soundtrack (this post shares a title with one of its songs), or get the low-budget cinematography out of my head.The problem with surrounding yourself with Impactful Things -- taking the trouble only to purchase well-rated books; subscribing to indie movie theater newsletters, so you're up on what's good beforehand; having friends to recommend all that to you regardless -- is that after a while, the Things begin to compete with each other for your attention, or worse, melt together in a pot on the back burner of your mind, now far too overwhelmed to take anything in.
That doesn't make any sense. :( Why was I not blessed with the gift of articulation?
It's the feeling of absurd, suffocating busyness, when you have so much to do you almost forget to brush your teeth. (That doesn't really happen though -- everyone knows that.) Or when you're having so much fun that you can't bear to think about anything but what's happening at the exact moment of existence.
It's the difference between a) somebody who leads a very boring life, to which something unexpected happens one day, like crossing paths with an alligator in the middle of the street, and b) somebody who deals with such oddments daily -- like a rescue worker or something -- who's rarely very much surprised anymore.
There's more contrast in an uneventful life. And so, down it boils: would you rather your days were uneventful, to savor the extremeness of drastic, life-changing moments, or have your life change a little bit every day, never truly shocked or moved by anything?
Granted, leading the latter type of life is probably very difficult to do. It's easy to forget things you've taken for granted forever, right up until the moment they're snatched away from under your nose. Something's bound to flip you over like a pancake on a griddle at some point.
It's times like these that makes me wish I had a large vat of Pensieve to consult on rainy days. But even without, I think I still prefer Life #2. If nothing else, it makes for better blogging material. :)
