Consider a piece of cloth.
Try to follow just one single thread but see how it goes in and around and through the others; weaving into the texture of every other strand, creating something new with every contact. See how those individual lines are lost and we are now dealing with a piece of fabric as a whole unit?
But, all we have to do is pull one thin thread and we realize the interdependence of all the others. There is no escaping the connections.
Consider our lives.
We can talk about destiny or fate. We can talk about choosing our response. We can talk about the consequences of our actions and why we must always choose wisely.
But here comes the randomness of life; we can make all the right choices and someone else can choose to drink and drive and their errant thread might very well be the one that rips into ours at the exact wrong moment. Or perhaps the pilot had a rough night, and his choice to fly regardless, is the strand that takes us all down (Hmmm…just thinking that’s not such a good example as I’m flying tomorrow. Hope that pilot is well-rested).
We are all so tightly interwoven that most of the time we don’t even see it or we deny that it even exists. Instead, we delude ourselves that we are in control of our single, fragile filament.
These are some of the thoughts that swirled around in my head as I stared at the bedroom ceiling last night while in the throes of another night of hormonally-induced insomnia. I attribute this particular vein of thinking on the book sitting on my nightstand. I had been reading the devastatingly fine book, Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.
In a compelling narrative set in the the early 70s, McCann illustrates how each of our lives hang in the balance of other’s decisions. Starting with the opening high wire act between the World Trade Towers (based on a true event), he reveals how each character’s life is devastatingly impacted by each person they come in contact with – whether by intention – or by chance.
This has been done to great effect by many films and writers, but this book takes the twin themes of love and loss much further. I am sad to know that I’ll probably be finished it tonight, though I doubt I’ll ever be finished thinking about it.
Especially if I spend another night staring up at the ceiling pondering the thread of my own existence.
This is so true ! Indeed we are all interwoven. In different ways we are all victims or beneficiaries of circumstance, of political decisions, of the whims of our law-makers, of the elements.
That is one of my all time favourite books. You’re right, the characters live on in your memories for a long time after the final page.
Irene, I remembered that you loved it too. It’s one of the reasons I picked it out of my bedside pile. I love all the ideas he explores and how he ties everything together. What a complicated structure!
I think we need a special link to all the other sleepless folks out there. Like a chat room in the middle of the night. We can all contemplate life together. The problem, is that we are all trying so desperatly to get BACK to sleep. The last thing on our mind is making friends. My Mother was famous for not sleeping, in fact she prided herself with the fact that she would be up for days. One of her favorite statements, “I am having a thinking night”. However, when not sleeping she would read, bake, empty the contents of cupboards & closets. Her occasional visit to the home shopping network was feared by all.
Let the Great World Spin is next on my list. Thank you for the recommendation.
You’re right about both wanting the special little sleepless night cyber forum and also right that we’re all trying to actually get back to sleep. Ha. A definition of a conundrum if ever there was one. I do believe I’ll steal your mom’s line from now on, “I’m having a thinking night.” Sounds much better. Looking forward to hearing what you think of Let the Great World Spin.