Whoever said that mind/body dualism is only a Cartesian fallacy was either young, high, or otherwise unusually free of regret. My own experience suggests that the body is pulled kicking and screaming into the future, while the mind (miracle of nonlinear computation that it is) is compelled to return to the past, like a fly to shit, like a tongue to a cut on the roof of its mouth. The body wants to return, but it moves on; the mind wants to move on, but it returns. Somewhere in this wretched in-between-ness, this Indian rope burn on the soul, the human subject can be found.
Death (hers) is irreversible, at least in this sad, dirty little stretch of monkey time that I inhabit. Some days it's light but grave, like a crow's wings brushing against my skin. Other days it's a fish hook in my guts, dragging me away from the people I love and need. Most of the time, though, it's just a guilty, impotent feeling--full of rage, shame and regret, and a terrible, terrible sadness. A ghost with a voice but no recognizable face. An exquisite and tuneless agony.
Thank God for family, without whom a disturbed and grieving mind might tear itself to pieces.
2 comments:
I agree that Ahmadinejad hasn't really given us any reason to let him speak in America. But I think the biggest problem that I have is the way the president of Columbia treated him. You don't invite someone to talk, then insult and degrade them only minutes before they speak.
Anyhoo, enough of politics. I watched The Wrong Guy last night and I really liked it. If you haven't already, I think you should watch Better Off Dead.
The Wrong Guy is a sweet movie. I haven't seen Better off Dead, but I will try to find it. It's harder to find vintage movies these days because the stores carry so little inventory. It's all new releases, and then they ship them back to where they came from or sell them.
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