…there is nothing but meetings and partings in this world… -R.L.
And here we are again, basking in the glow of yet another Rachel Lyndeism. The interesting thing about what she’s said here, and her various other little nuggets of joy, is that they’re generally true. They’re somewhat easily observable phenomenon that any old Joe (or Jane) could clearly deduce. Yet why do they make us wrinkle our brow and shake our head at the poor old bird? Why do we love to loathe a Rachel? (although I’ll be the first to admit that she’s not all bad – later on this blog we’ll explore the coming of age that her character experiences, as we see even an old dog learning newish tricks… although we know that a dog will never become a cat – Rachel will always be Rachel…)
Oh, me and my tangents.
Back to the point.
I think that when we read Anne, we’re not looking for someone to remind us of the plain and simple reality of things – we’ve got enough of that hitting us in the face every day. What’s truly exceptional is someone who will tell us something that we can’t plainly see; someone who will help shift our gaze from the ordinary and mundane to the exceptional and lovely. One could perhaps argue that those exceptional and lovely things of which I write of could also be categorized as fanciful and non-reality based. I would say, though, that although our Annegirl does have her occasional haunted wood episodes (I know, we’re all still embarrassed for her) much of what she sees in her world is as real as this bowl of popcorn I’m eating (yum). She just sees the beauty in it.
I was talking to an old friend/mentor recently and he mentioned that the fantastic thing about beauty is that it has to be enjoyed in the moment. Sure, we can take a photograph and try to capture it, we can go back to the place year after year or write inspiring sonnets. The truth of it is, though, that every time it’ll be just a little bit different. Beauty is in the moment. And beauty is all around (kind of like love actually, is, all around… but that’s another story for another day).
How did I jump from a Rachel quote to thoughts on real beauty? Not sure, but let’s bring it back home. Yes, life is indeed meetings and partings. Those are the facts. I’ve had a good number of them in my 28 years. What I see, though, is so much more than a series of hellos and goodbyes (holas y adioses). I see millions of moments of beauty in the relationships in between those meetings and partings. They are bits of life that I could never photograph and perhaps never recreate, but I’m on the watch for them. I’ve tasted and I’ve seen and it’s good.
-big sis
