One Crazy ThingA Story by Nik HillMy Borrowed Thoughts on DeathA friend of mine recently asked me if there was one
crazy thing in my life that I wanted to do. I was sitting on a balcony. I gave
her a stock reply saying there was no such thing. Frankly, I am in the business
of looking smart. There was nothing else I could have said. Well, actually I
did say something. I gave away my real answer by looking at the ledge
for the briefest instance. The craziest thing I have ever wanted to do " was
jump from that ledge, 4 floors above the ground. It seems crazy in most human
senses. All I wanted was to feel the soft, sweet wind kissing me gently,
leaving them tousled, moving towards the Earth to rest in her loving embrace.
An embrace that has such a finality that there is no adjective to describe it
other than dead. And then there is death herself. Cold as a ice, waiting like a
temptress. Indeed, alluring to some. Man’s fixation with the Lady in Black is legendary.
Many great literary works and artistic endeavours have been inspired by The Great
Unknown. Be it John Donne’s timeless Divine Sonnet X that boldly drags Death
from its pedestal to Longfellow’s The Reaper and the Flowers that tries
optimism. Death inspired In Memoriam by Tennyson, one of the finest
pieces of English literature of times bygone. More recently, W.H. Auden
produced ‘Funeral Blues’, one of the contemporary classics and my personal
favourite. Another interesting poem is The Ballade of Suicide by G.K.
Chesterton which takes a rather unconventional view to Death. Death fascinates us. The idea of an unknown surely
must tempt people (or is it just me?). We fear it. Most of us do. Death can
have a pretty polarizing effect on people. Admittedly, I haven’t seen my share
of the world as yet. But, I have had three light brushes. Not entirely
satisfying for forming impressions. After all isn’t it just another experience?
The fact that it is invariably the last one adds to the allure. On November 22, 1963, along with Aldous Huxley, John
F. Kennedy and C. S. Lewis arrived at the end of their life. The only reason
for the euphemism is what Lewis said regarding Death. Personally, I admire Aldous Huxley. On his deathbed,
unable to speak, Huxley made a written request to his wife for "LSD, 100
µg, intramuscular". He famously said once, “A belief in
hell and the knowledge that every ambition is doomed to frustration at the
hands of a skeleton have never prevented the majority of human beings from
behaving as though death were no more than an unfounded rumor”. “If we really think that home is elsewhere and that
this life is a ''wandering to find home,'' why should we not look forward to
the arrival?” Both the above quotes capture humankind’s general
attitude towards Death " to get over it believing that there is better to come. But the third guy, John F. Kennedy, said it better,
“The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of the
final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy”. There are many more experiences to be had. Many more
crazy things to do. Miles to go before I slip on some banana peel. Maybe, I
won’t go over the ledge, after all. © 2010 Nik Hill |
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1 Review Added on April 14, 2010 Last Updated on April 14, 2010 AuthorNik HillMumbai, IndiaAboutI am self-centered, egotistical and a wise-a*s. I like to correct people even without actually knowing I am doing it. I like to sit and criticize. I am a Pathological Liar. So... Where were we? more..Writing
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