Conscience - Blog Posts

Source: The Mind's Journal via Pinterest

I Remember

I remember being a tree, I was beautiful and old.

I remember how my massive roots stretched out and rose from the ground.

I remember how I stood tall and proud as foxes burrowed under my roots, taking safety in the shelter I gave.

I remember being happy, I was happy with my sweet foxes.

I remember how warm I felt even as storms came, they looked to me for the safety that I provided.

I remember their sweet little faces and the faces of their children.

I do not remember the voices of the other trees who had been my friends but I remember my foxes with their silver coats and their playful ways.

I remember the hunter who came.

I remember how the sweet little foxes ran to me for safety.

I remember how they buried themselves in my roots for the safety I once held.

I remember how the hunter shot them.

I remember that I could not protect my foxes as I once had.

I remember how the hunter's eyes gleamed with greed and how for the first time I felt fear.

I remember how he dragged my foxes away from me, from the burrows they had made underneath my roots.

I remember that he came back with a man with an axe as same colour as the fox pelt he wore.

I remember how I could not fight back as he cut me down, I could not raise a root to harm him for I was just a tree.

Gut Feelings.

You should always trust your gut feelings. Know when something is up and is not right. Your gut is a good indicator that something is wrong for you. Your gut is like your mom and she knows best. That pit feeling is a sign that you shouldn't go through with it. So why not listen to it? Why do you keep making the same mistakes? Over and over? When will you ever learn?

Le vrai pouvoir, celui qui atteint le cœur, la raison et la conscience, n'a besoin ni de trône, ni d'armée, ni d'argent. Pour l'obtenir, il n'y a qu'un travail à faire sur soi-même, chercher le beau, le vrai, et le répandre dans la mesure de ses forces.

-George Sand

Movies that make you think--if you let them

There are many movies that with a final scene turn the whole show on its head, make you try to figure things out as you go along, or fit so well together –these movies aren’t for the night at the end of the week where you’re tired or trying to relax, these are movies that make you think, keep your heart pounding not with action or violence but just suspense and intrigue (yeah, some of them also have those but that’s not what keeps people talking)

Gone Girl (2014)

Gone Girl was mentioned to me by one of my best friends whose really into movies and is a pretty smart guy all around. Knowing me, he also knew I’d like the question of the relationship between the married couple and the truth. While it was on my list, his recommendation pushed me to get to it sooner.

While the movie is good and has you thinking from the start, along with growing sympathy, the true story shoots up halfway thru with the wife’s reveal—something that could have but should not have been slipped in earlier (obviously). Here we delve further into the gray area, who is right, who is wrong, is there absolution for the husband and how can he get out of all this and how guilty is he really in everything that occurs.

There were many things I didn’t like about the movie, especially the character of the wife, but while it’s a movie I can’t bring myself to see again, I may one day as I still think about it.

Gattaca (1997)

Gattaca was a movie, that due to personal circumstances, I saw many, many time. Focused on how genetics shape our lives, this movie becomes more realistic every day and jumped back into my head late last year with the Chinese scientist who (may) have genetically engineered twins to be HIV resistant. A simple plot, lightly explained how genetics impact everything and how much of our DNA is everywhere—but more so it brought out the core questions related to humanity and the many levels of how our genetics should be used as decisions about our lives. The main character has been able to lead a superior life, regardless of his inferior genetic makeup, but also exceed beyond the identity his has assumed. Forget heart and effort, will and perseverance—he promotes the idea that he the genetics test provides nothing but statistical probabilities, not absolute facts (in how they are used in this film, there obviously very clear cut yes and no things with genetics).

On another level, which you may choose to explore, is the reminder that the law hardly ever is equal with society—it is always behind, and how while genetics may allow for a “higher chance” of success for the human race, it will not rid people of their human qualities. But again, the work is on you

Unbreakable

I wanted to do this one earlier, but given the trilogy has it’s final release today, I postponed

I love this movie. Another film that I can rewatch just after finishing it’s very, very high on my list. I even bought it as a download from iTunes to my iPod Classic–that’s an extremely old sentence (JM). I think one of the things that made this story unique was that it wasn’t a teenager having a coming-of-age superhero, complex story, it was an adult. An adult with a kid, problems at home and an entire life he really had to figure out along with the great story we are figuring out with him, how and to what level of a superhero he should be. Usually, our superheroes are more established when we meet them, in this case, we really went on the discovery journey with them as we can clearly see when David stands in the crowd and tries to figure out exactly who and how he will be a hero. 

The clincher, of course, is at the end (which if you haven’t seen is already spoiled by the rest of the trilogies release) when we discover that Mr. Glass wasn’t just interested in finding someone who was a superhero, but felt it was so important—that he create the disasters to expose him. He created his superhero, and was this a line worth crossing—he believes so, when did he realize he was the villain? At least he agrees that he is one--definitely, some time has passed, but why then, had he become that obsessed, more needs to be divulged here.