Significance of Life By: Heather Shone P.2
“We do not pray for immortality, but only not to see our acts and all things stripped suddenly of all their meaning; for then it is the utter emptiness of everything reveals itself.” -Antoine De Saint-Exupéry
Miracle:
an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment
Immortality:
the quality or state of being immortal-- unending existence
Human Connection:
Human bonding is the process of development of a close, interpersonal relationship
"A person taking off from the ground," he said, "elevates himself above the trivialities of life into a new understanding."
Antoine De Saint-Exupéry expressed his belief through his novel "Le Petit Prince" or famously known as "The Little Prince", that selflessness and materialism is not the lift to live. He lies his sense to responsibility-- that man should be responsible for his actions, for his mail, and for his comrades. "As we place our stone, that we are contributing to the building of the world." It is solely based on an individual's decision whether they wants make themselves apart of the world or not. They could be the brick to building a better and meaningful life to someone, or they could just be a factor of destruction. But if there were none of that, then the world would be plain and dull, like staring at white paper with no creativity.
Everything in life begins with connection. In each moment, we are choosing to join or separate - to connect or disconnect - and the person to whom we’re speaking feels what we have chosen regardless of our words. In an article written by Samie Al-Achrafi 'Inside Out' he states “ Other people become a reflection of the loving, kind, peaceful relationship you have with yourself.” Humans can't truly make connect with others unless they find peace within themselves. How we act and how we treat others, is through ourselves. If we feel a certain way, it'll effect others whether it be good or bad. Like Antoine De Saint-Exupéry's belief, if humans are going to be a building block of people's life, they need to be responsible and act the way they way they want the world to change into.
However, not only do people effect to the world as a whole, they also change the people the meet. It’s our choice whether we want to deepen our lives with others, or simply live static. In the novel 'The Stranger' by Albert Camus, Meursault and Marie are conversing about marriage and he always ended his feelings with “ I said it didn’t make a difference to me .. that it didn’t mean anything … I probably didn’t love her… It didn’t really matter.” After his mother's death, Marie was the first person he got attached too, not emotionally but physically. He was attracted her for her body, but not really her emotions/feelings. At this point he chose to only associate himself with her that far and not to the extreme of emotions. He decided to go with her flow but kept his lifestyle mundane as usual. Marie is aware of after his blank responses, but she in some sense she might have stayed with him because he was quite peculiar. Even in the smallest actions, humans must be responsible and be aware what we do to those we keep close.
However, there will be ups and downs to being a building block to the world. It’s not innate that an individual will fit with the social norms, it simply means the individual's connection with the world does not click. The talk, the thoughts, the opinion, everything doesn’t level with the individual. This could slowly drive the individual towards the edge of their sanity. It will feel like no one can or will understand them because they don't share the same experience. It's not sympathy they want but empathy. For example, I once had a friend overseas who didn't value her life at one point. She was in the hospital for sometime due to her illness and she felt as if she'd be captured there forever. At that moment, she wanted to end her life. However, when I encountered her through a game, I managed to talk her out of it. I became her one friends she had that the hospital couldn't provide. Whether it was small talk or even a simple “hello” everyday, it made her feel less alone. In the end, engaging with another can change a person’s state and living environment. Small connections with everyone makes an individual more intact with the world even if they are physically confined by hospital walls.
In the end, everything that occurs in this place called Earth is made by humans. Each individuals pass on different personalities and ego to each other by the minute. Not every takes responsibilities for shaping others to the way an individual sees them self. Like what Antoine De Saint-Exupéry said, humans are the building block of this world. As the year goes by, people will change from what they were the year before. The way humans interact and share their ideology with each other can cause someone to become like Meursault, for example he fed his sexual greed and smoking addiction. Once everyone tames their life, each and every individual needs to take care of it. Connection with others is important, and keeping in touch with a physical being will give you more reasons to keep living. If the whole world were all introverts, what was the point of Earth? What was the point of being here? Why were we put on this planet with other people? Why do human's exist? Questions that will never be answered by others, but only yourself.
Resources:
- Al-Achrafi, Samie. “Inside Out.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 4 Nov. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/samie-alachrafi/inside-out_4_b_12801918.html. Accessed 6 May 2017.
- Clark, Neil. "Imagination takes flight: the life and mind of Antoine de Saint-Exupery." The American Conservative, vol. 8, no. 13, 2009, p. 38+. Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=parkrose&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA207052488&it=r&asid=68a67e82fc475b194d77b6ffa961bf5c.
- Camus, Albert, and Matthew War. The stranger. New York, Vintage International, 1989.
- Personal Resource
- “The Long Reach of Childhood.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-long-reach-childhood.
- Webster Dictionary