In The Beginning
Entry by: Alobear
14th May 2015
In The Beginning
In the beginning, there is noise and confusion, harsh light after the warm darkness. You are thrust into a world that you cannot understand, and which in turn cannot understand you. You cry out in need, unsure what it is you want, but certain that, whatever it is, you want it now. If you are lucky, everything you need is provided for you and, slowly, things start to take shape and make sense.
Or, at least some things do. Put your hand in the fire and it burns. Snowflakes tingle on the tongue. Trip and fall and you bleed. Cake is sweet, lemons are not.
Other things, less so, particularly the other people with whom you share the world. You would think, being one of them, you would be able to understand them, but they consistently defy expectation. They react to things in ways that shake your very foundations, and leave you reeling and disoriented.
As you grow, you change. Things that were bitter when you were young are now sweet, and vice versa. Revisit something loved in childhood and you will likely find it unsatisfying in later years. Some people become known quantities and thus less likely to confuse or upset you, or be confused or upset by you. You develop relationships and think you have found meaning.
Other things develop, too. A purpose, perhaps, a sense of achievement. You succeed or fail in your chosen endeavours and you try to learn from your experiences. You assign reasons to the things that happen to you; blame others or yourself, sensibly or not. You accrue possessions, and see that as marking your progress. Perhaps you also create things, either animate or inanimate, and thus you gain a sense of continuity, of something that will last.
You see what you can of the world, experience as much variety as you can find. There is colour and darkness, beauty and ugliness.
Eventually, one day, the end comes. Regardless of what you have done with your time, you leave the same way you entered; alone, confused and crying.
But the cycle is not over. You have just reached the bottom of the ferris wheel. Step off one car and onto the next – and it is time to begin again.
In the beginning, there is noise and confusion, harsh light after the warm darkness. You are thrust into a world that you cannot understand, and which in turn cannot understand you. You cry out in need, unsure what it is you want, but certain that, whatever it is, you want it now. If you are lucky, everything you need is provided for you and, slowly, things start to take shape and make sense.
Or, at least some things do. Put your hand in the fire and it burns. Snowflakes tingle on the tongue. Trip and fall and you bleed. Cake is sweet, lemons are not.
Other things, less so, particularly the other people with whom you share the world. You would think, being one of them, you would be able to understand them, but they consistently defy expectation. They react to things in ways that shake your very foundations, and leave you reeling and disoriented.
As you grow, you change. Things that were bitter when you were young are now sweet, and vice versa. Revisit something loved in childhood and you will likely find it unsatisfying in later years. Some people become known quantities and thus less likely to confuse or upset you, or be confused or upset by you. You develop relationships and think you have found meaning.
Other things develop, too. A purpose, perhaps, a sense of achievement. You succeed or fail in your chosen endeavours and you try to learn from your experiences. You assign reasons to the things that happen to you; blame others or yourself, sensibly or not. You accrue possessions, and see that as marking your progress. Perhaps you also create things, either animate or inanimate, and thus you gain a sense of continuity, of something that will last.
You see what you can of the world, experience as much variety as you can find. There is colour and darkness, beauty and ugliness.
Eventually, one day, the end comes. Regardless of what you have done with your time, you leave the same way you entered; alone, confused and crying.
But the cycle is not over. You have just reached the bottom of the ferris wheel. Step off one car and onto the next – and it is time to begin again.
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Instagram