Wisdom from the examined lives

大家都知道時代雜誌每年年底都會選出所謂年度人物。不過同一期通常也會有個Farewell專輯,紀念那些當年過世、對這時代有過相當程度影響的人物。我很喜歡這些長篇或短篇的個人傳記型專欄或文章,因為我對有故事的人一向非常有興趣,可是我太孤僻又偷懶,一年沒認識幾個新朋友不說,還反倒、志願與非志願地、和幾個舊朋友斷了通訊。親身聽不到什麼故事,就往文字與影像的世界裡鑽,希望遇到偶像或知己或純粹就是個精彩的人。

這期farewell最吸引我的都是這些人在世時說過的話,精彩過別人幫他們作的小傳。我摘錄三個人,其中有兩個完全沒聽過但是也假裝裝熟地亂感動一把。

Merce Cunningham (Dancer and choreographer, 90)
'You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls and maybe hang in museums, no poems to be printed and sold, nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive. It is not for unsteady souls.'
(我覺得他把創作者的孤獨卻飽滿的心情描寫的真好)

Michael Jackson (Singer, 50)
'If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.'
(該怎麼說呢,這句話讓我很悲傷。是一個極度期待愛與極度想給予愛但卻總事與願違因而心靈充滿坑坑洞洞的人才會說得出來的吧！)

Larry Gelbert (Playwright and screenwriter, 81)
'The meaning of life is beyond me. The best I can do is deal with it one word at a time.'
(真是創作者探索存在感最積極的態度與方式！)

大家都說過年期間要避免暴飲暴食(binge eating)。看來過年其間自我安慰用的虛假放鬆感也很容易讓人binge writing （而且還是跟正業無關的）。今年就此停筆。來年再見！