”The magazine piece on the urban legend had stated, ‘At the end of the day, whether one returns to the past or travels to the future, the present does not change. So it raises the question: just what is the point of that chair?’

But Kazu still goes on believing that, no matter what difficulties people face, they will always have the strength to overcome them. It just takes heart. And if the chair can change someone's heart, it clearly has its purpose.”

I loved how interwoven the four ‘stories’ are with one another, hints sprinkled throughout the previous to set up for what is to come. My favorite had to be that of the sisters. As I have an older sibling who is only a year and a half older, I have often seen him as someone to protect. Their story really struck me and made me tear up at least twice.

The overall theme of this book is one that resonates: though true that we cannot change the past, we can change how we react and feel about it; in this way, we may heal and move forward into a happier future guided by our understanding of that fact.

”A sickness came over me
whose origins were never determined
though it became more and more difficult
to sustain the pretense of normalcy,
of good health or joy in existence
Gradually I wanted only to be with those like
myself;
I sought them out as best I could
which was no easy matter
since they were all disguised or in hiding.”

-

”Ah, he says, you are dreaming again

And I say then I'm glad I dream the fire is still alive”

-

”They look calm, but calm is not the truth.
Despair is the truth. This is what
mother and father know. All hope is lost.
We must return to where it was lost
if we want to find it again.”

-

”I felt something true had been spoken
and though I would have preferred to have
spoken it myself
I was glad at least to have heard it.”

-

“What a shame I became
verbal, with no connection
to that memory. My mother's love!
All too soon I emerged
my true self,
robust but sour,
like an alarm clock.”

-

“How heavy my mind is,
filled with the past.
Is there enough room
for the world to penetrate?
It must go somewhere,
it cannot simply sit on the surface—“

Highlighted the shit out of this.

”For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining, and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.
Therefore let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion, that it may sing;
And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes.”

-

”Too many fragments of the spirit have I scattered in these streets, and too many are the children of my longing that walk naked among these hills, and I cannot withdraw from them without a burden and an ache.
It is not a garment I cast off this day, but a skin that I tear with my own hands.”

-

”And let your best be for your friend.
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
Seek him always with hours to live.
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.”

-

”Surely there is no greater gift to a man than that which turns all his aims into parching lips and all life into a fountain.”

-

”And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of vour grief.”

-

”Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”

The man-made conventions of our world, if allowed to reign unopposed and become a dominance we must give way to, can and will corrupt the fruit of our life’s intended course and negate everything natural. To mind-numbingly follow whatever conventions tell us is our best interest or is the order of things, is to enter a frozen state; the ninth kingdom. In opting to live within the conventional despite the natural inclination to do otherwise, one is resigning themselves to an apathetic and shallow existence that will only become the object of their regret when the reality of their end is upon them, at the end of the line. We can only break away from this monotonous march towards death by coming to these realizations ourselves, though how we do this is variable.

The escape route Mary Ventura takes is intentionally quite reminiscent of suicide, her last chance off this train being an Emergency Cord. To reference Camus’ absurdist question posed in The Myth of Sisyphus about whether the answer to the meaninglessness and pointless suffering of man is suicide, there is a sense that Plath is inclined to believe contrary to Camus in that yes, suicide is an escape from Hell on Earth, an elevation from this undesirable life and a relief from the prolonged suffering brought on by this unwilling partaking alongside the collective. It is a way of reclaiming agency and will when otherwise lost with seemingly no hope and no other method of reclamation.

Nice little short story that holds your attention and provides unique insight into Plath’s mind and origin of her literary themes at age 20, a year younger than I am now, which is pretty cool.

I’ve been wanting to read some of Rumi’s poetry for a long time now but have been waiting for a more reputable translation of the source material; this is definitely it!

”Take the cotton
of the mind's doom-ridden chatter
out of your ears.

Hear the booming voice of the heavens,
the roar of fate,

the ruckus the muse makes.”

-

”The moment you left me,
sweetness was stolen from my tongue.
I turned to wax, burned like a candle
all night, scorched by fire,
no honey.
No way to reach you,
no way to touch your beauty.

My body lies here in ruins.
My soul, a night owl.”

-

”I am blasphemous and religious,
the wine and its dregs,
an old sage, a young man, a child.

When I leave this world, don't say I died.

Say I was dead then came to life.
Say the Beloved whisked me away.”

”Restless, are you restless?
Are you waiting for day to end
For night to return, faithful, virtuous?”

”My story begins very simply: I could speak and I was happy.
Or: I could speak, thus I was happy.
Or: I was happy, thus speaking.
I was like a bright light passing through a
dark room.
If it is so difficult to begin, imagine what
it will be to end—“

“Feeling has departed—it occurs to me this would make a fine headstone.

But I was wrong to suggest this has occurred before.
In fact, I have been hounded by feeling;
it is the gift of expression that has so often failed me.
Failed me, tormented me, virtually all my
life.”

”But to abandon you would be to leave a part of myself behind, and how can I do that when I do not know which part you are?”

”Rape
is the story of Helen,
Persephone,
Norma Jeane,
Troy.
War is the context
and God is a boy.
Oh my darlings,
they tell you you’re born with a precious pearl.
Truth is,
it’s a disaster to be a girl.”

-

”Sometimes I think language should cover its own eyes when it speaks.”

”Then suddenly you're left all alone with your body that can't love you
and your will that can't save you.

But now, like a whispering in dark streets, rumors of God run through your dark blood.”

In this collection, Rilke carries over his propensity for introspection by weaving together aspects of human life with that of divine oversight. His poems exist at the intersection of mortality and immortality, mindful not to disregard one in favor of the other.

”It's here in all the pieces of my shame
that now I find myself again.
I yearn to belong to something, to be contained
in an all-embracing mind that sees me
as a single thing.
I yearn to be held
in the great hands of your heart—
oh let them take me now.”

Despite the fact that the “you” so frequently addressed in this collection does indeed refer to God, readers need not be religious to resonate with these love poems. I would even say there is further insight to be gained if one were not already heavily and solidly linked to religion or God. Rilke does not ever come across as overbearing or preachy, yet still conveys why God’s all-consuming, all-encompassing presence is a comfort to him in the midst of struggle. Common questions of faith posed by believers are also addressed in a way that is not belittling or unsympathetic. He does not answer these questions for the reader with a stubborn definitiveness, but rather tells of his own considerations whilst still leaving plenty of room for one to either work about why they might disagree or how to expand upon it further themselves should they find merit in it.

”Maybe all paths lead there,
to the repository of unlived things.
And yet, though we strain
against the deadening grip
of daily necessity,
I sense there is this mystery:

All life is being lived.”

I really enjoyed Rilke’s fusion of the natural universe with God, as well as his focus on cultivating a personal relationship with a higher being rather than on engaging in collective religion. His command over language and his ability to convey complexities of the human condition is beyond impressive and inspiring.

”Extinguish my eyes, I'll go on seeing you.
Seal my ears, I'll go on hearing you.
And without feet I can make my way to you,
without a mouth I can swear your name.

Break off my arms, I'll take hold of you
with my heart as with a hand.
Stop my heart, and my brain will start to beat.
And if you consume my brain with fire,
I'll feel you burn in every drop of my blood.”

”Iris said, ‘Right, let’s go. SecUnit, we’ll wait for you up top.’

I know they will, which is why I’m willing to die to get them up there.”

3.75.

I just love reading about Murderbot and its adventures with its humans (yes, the several groups of them by now). Murderbot and ART continue to shine as arguably the best part of this amazingly fun series! I’m also so excited to see more of this free SecUnit wave that Murderbot has essentially initiated over the last two major installments (Network Effect, which I did prefer slightly more, and System Collapse). Furthermore, I loved the way Murderbot’s trauma response is explored subtly but still meaningfully; though not the main focus, Murderbot’s past horrific experiences from a time not really known to us yet are the driving force behind its decisions and actions all throughout this arc. Wells does a fantastic job of packing great and substantial character development into such short books, and I am eager to see where Murderbot goes from here with the Perihelion crew!

A recommendation from my high school English teacher!

Really fun to read; I adored the banter between Richard and Don. The way this piece of work is structured from beginning to end gives me the feeling that it would be served a greater justice by rereading. The notions presented are a bit “basic” only in that they are, in my opinion, the essential pillars for this new state of thinking, living, and navigating your own world. Though somewhat preliminary, we can always be reminded of these points, especially since Bach takes a unique approach in conveying the lessons of this reluctant Messiah. I especially loved the ending! I found it fantastic and quite frankly genius.

”Is this how it ends, I thought, is everything a master says just pretty words that can't save him from the first attack of some mad dog in a farmer's field?

I had to read three times before I could believe these were the words on the page.

Everything
in this book
may be wrong.