"What I want to say is this: - If you logically try to persuade a person that there is no absolute reason for shedding tears, the person in question will cease weeping. That's self evident. Why, I should like to know, should such a person continue doing so?"

"If such were the usual course of things, life would be a very easy matter," replied Raskolnikoff.

- Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Stranger than fiction

I just watched "Stranger than Fiction" and I am still crying. Please don't tell anyone, I have a reputation to maintain.
Do you ever think that you are just entirely missing the point of life?
And then comes the inevitable question: what is the point of life? I think I know what the point of life is, for me anyways. But I cannot achieve it because I am surrounded by a rigid structure that I don't subscribe to and that I didn't create. I wasn't invited to the meeting that dictated what a "normal" life should be and what trappings we should all aspire to.
And I have the most non-tangible, unimportant and made up job there is: accounting. It isn't really necessary. I remit VAT to HM Customs and Excise in the UK. I calculate how much Washington State Tax to pay. It's important that I correctly depreciate our assets over 36 or say 48 months, otherwise when we succumb to our annual audit (which is when a bunch of people come in and make sure that these numbers that I put forth as "facts" are irrefutably correct and tie into the veritable rules of accounting, because something cannot exist unless there are rules that must apply to it) I will have to make journal entries to correct my mistakes. My horrible, life altering and unbelievable mistakes.
I know that my life is best when I'm on lunch, a coffee break. It's really good after 4pm and it's absolutely fantastic in the time span from Friday night to early Monday morning. I wonder: why can't reading be my full time job? I lament that I will never see all the art, architecture, listen to all the music, see all the films, read all the literature and travel to all the places that will undoubtedly influence my life and make me appreciate it more. I have to pay taxes. I have to remember my swipe card to get into work. I can't be late for things. I have to reward people that were born with attractive features, people that lied and cheated to get where they are, people that have expensive educations but no compassion for others, with my respect because that's how it's set up.
But it's like BC Hydro. You can't get off the grid. I don't want to work. I want to spend hours talking to people that have something interesting to say. I want to spend all day at the art gallery. I'd like to not have the immediate knee jerk reaction that someone is a loser, poser, deadbeat, weirdo because they look, dress or act differently than everyone else.
What if we could all do what we wanted to do? What would the world be like then?
Oh god, I am opening up a huge can of worms. Because if everyone did what they wanted to do then no work would get done, we wouldn't have food or clean water and those people that liked to abuse children and animals would do that because for every good and pure thing there has to be something malicious and nefarious. For every me there is someone like me who is unfailingly happy and will change the world and accomplish amazing things and there is someone else who is fighting for survival and has experienced immeasurable anguish. I understand. It's an infinite balancing act.
You know, conversations like this are really difficult to have by oneself. I'm amazed I have friends. Do you think I'm crazy? I'll let you know when I start to hear a voice over as I'm brushing my teeth.
That was such a good movie.

1 comment:

Big D said...

Ok, you're really scaring me. Not because of what you wrote. Because what you wrote is so close to the stuff I have been reading in a book I have. Well, not that 'conforming to society' is any new or shocking topic. But I was thinking about you as I was reading it this weekend. I'll share it with you next time I see you. Called in sick today. Think I'll watch 'Fight Club;.