(via ohlalaland)
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“As you are well aware,” the man continued, his voice soft but penetrating, “in the course of life we experience many kinds of pain. Pains of the body and pains of the heart. I know I have experienced pain in many different forms in my life, and I’m sure you have too. In most cases, though, I’m sure you’ve found it very difficult to convey the truth of that pain to another person: to explain it in words. People say that only they themselves can understand the pain they are feeling. But is this true? I for one do not believe that it is. If, before our eyes, we see someone who is truly suffering, we do sometimes feel his suffering and pain as our own. This is the power of empathy. Am I making myself clear?”
He broke off and looked around the room once again.
“The reason that people sing songs for other people is because they want to have the power to arouse empathy, to break free of the narrow shell of the self and share their pain and joy with others. This is not an easy thing to do, of course. And so tonight, as a kind of experiment, I want you to experience a simpler, more physical kind of empathy.”
Everyone in the place was hushed now, all eyes fixed on the stage. Amid the silence, the man stared off into space, as if to insert a pause or to reach a state of mental concentration. Then, without a word, he held his left hand over the lighted candle. Little by little, he brought the palm closer and closer to the flame. Someone in the audience made a sound like a sigh or a moan. You could see the tip of the flame burning the man’s palm. You could almost hear the sizzle of the flesh. A woman released a hard little scream. Everyone else just watched in frozen horror. The man endured the pain, his face distorted in agony. What the hell was this? Why did he have to do such a stupid, senseless thing? I felt my mouth going dry. After five or six seconds of this, he slowly removed his hand from the flame and set the dish with the candle in it on the floor. Then he clasped his hands together, the right and left palms pressed against each other.
“As you have seen tonight, ladies and gentlemen, pain can actually burn a person’s flesh,” said the man. His voice sounded exactly as it had earlier: quiet, steady, cool. No trace of suffering remained on his face. Indeed, it had been replaced by a faint smile. “And the pain that must have been there, you have been able to feel as if it were your own. That is the power of empathy.”
"The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, Empirical Enquiry on Pain, Haruki Murakami
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what a sweetheart
boyfriend and i were chatting on the phone just a few minutes back.
boyfriend( who was narrating his daily encounter in his army camp), ” the second best thing that happened today was chatting with a staff sergeant about life experiences.”
“so what’s the best thing that happened today?”
“talking to you on the phone”
and the title says it all
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(Source: sheandherdarkness, via unmitigated-disaster)
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(Source: duckmustachio, via i-spill-kisses-with-love)
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"Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay."― Robert Frost
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perks of being a wallflower
The perks of being a wallflower is such an impeccable read. Its ability to connect with its readers has got me hooked from the very first page.
Amidst the tumultuous sea of emotions Charlie is forced to confront, i admire him for his bravery to do what he feels, and not succumb to peer pressure, like many of us eventually do. I also admire Charlie and his ability to “filter” his thoughts in such a conscientious manner. Chbosky’s poignant style of writing has made Charlie such a relatable and an affable character and i thoroughly enjoyed the book.
One of Charlie’s many problems includes coping with the loss of two loved ones - Aunt Helen and his best friend Michael. Charlie believes that Aunt Helen’s death was indirectly caused by him. In Michael’s case however, Charlie struggles to understand the reason behind his suicide.
If you were Charlie, whose death would leave you more emotionally scarred ? What hurts the loved ones you leave behind more - death by accident or death by choice?
Speaking of death, i discovered the shocking death of a local celebrity just a few minutes back. She was just 34. At that instant, I saw how God can easily bring life into this world, and snatch another’s in a heartbeat. Quoted from Alice Sebold’s novel - The Lovely Bones, “ Nothing is ever certain ”. Indeed, the impermanence of life has got me thinking as to how i would want to truly live my life. Sigh, why am i talking about death at such an unearthly hour? this is all too much to fathom.
Rest in peace Emma Yong.
Theme: Linear by Peter Vidani
