How to enjoy the failure of our lives
The idea that life is a series of adversities and each one is an opportunity to behave well instead of badly is a very, very, good idea. - Charlie Munger
I used to love the idea of poems too much to actually enjoy them.
Poems as I talked about in a video essay I made are meant to say “that which cannot be said.”
That’s beautiful…the idea that artists should strive to say the things we feel, but cannot express.
And yet by definition, it’s impossible to say that which cannot be said.
So every poem, every piece of art is a failure.
That’s why I didn’t like poems.
Recently, I’ve learned to appreciate them more.
Our lives are like poems.
Most of us love the idea of life too much to actually enjoy the day-to-day.
We strive but ultimately will fail to reach perfection.
Because by definition, perfection is impossible to achieve.
I’m reminded of that Debussy quote:
“Music is the space between the notes”
Our lives are a dash.
Birth — Death
How can we enjoy the in-between?
What are the pauses, spaces, and unsaid notes that we are not feeling?
How can we enjoy the “striving” rather than perform at being alive to look forward to perfection we will never reach?
“It’s not the notes you play; it’s the notes you don’t play.” - Miles Davis
Our lives are inscrutable, unsayable, soon-to-be-forgotten masterpieces.
Make the space
Feel the pause
Enjoy the unsayable
Celebrate the aliveness.