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Sunday, August 09, 2020

Parallels

After writing the last post yesterday night, something very curious occurred to me. I realized blogger Allie Brosh has a post exactly on what I was feeling, or you know, what was happening to me. It was quite interesting, finding people that go through the same emotions as you, trying to make sense of the same illogical mess as you are. And  it raised a tiny beacon of hope.
You can read the full post here, but I am just going to attach some excerpts here.

" I remember being endlessly entertained by the adventures of my toys. Some days they died repeated, violent deaths, other days they traveled to space or discussed my swim lessons and how I absolutely should be allowed in the deep end of the pool, especially since I was such a talented doggy-paddler.

I didn't understand why it was fun for me, it just was.

But as I grew older, it became harder and harder to access that expansive imaginary space that made my toys fun. I remember looking at them and feeling sort of frustrated and confused that things weren't the same.

I played out all the same story lines that had been fun before, but the meaning had disappeared. Horse's Big Space Adventure transformed into holding a plastic horse in the air, hoping it would somehow be enjoyable for me. Prehistoric Crazy-Bus Death Ride was just smashing a toy bus full of dinosaurs into the wall while feeling sort of bored and unfulfilled.  I could no longer connect to my toys in a way that allowed me to participate in the experience.  

The beginning of my depression had been nothing but feelings, so the emotional deadening that followed was a welcome relief.  I had always wanted to not give a fuck about anything. I viewed feelings as a weakness — annoying obstacles on my quest for total power over myself. And I finally didn't have to feel them anymore."

This does not solve the problem though, while Allie's post ends on a slight grain of hope, it is made clear there is no complete redemption. Just like I feared. I have lost something I may never get back in this life.

Expecto Patronum

In 2003, when I was in grade seven, I got my first Harry Potter book. Needless to say, life changed from that point. To say that I was completely immersed in the story would be an understatement. I can't even begin to put into words what those days were like. I could not put the book down. All my day would be either reading the book or thinking about it. It had such an impact that at that time, to me, real life started feeling artificial, my heart and mind lived inside the magical world of wizardry. I would think about the story, imagine the characters going on about their lives, imagine me myself being beside the characters, in their world. Reality started feeling unreal. I would go to school and talk to my my friends about it the whole time, we would wait eagerly for the books and the movies. It was a feeling beyond words, nothing short of magic. Those years were the happiest times of my life. It was like living in euphoria.

Years have passed since the last book, the last movie came out. I've re-read the books, re-watched the movies countless times. But something has happened, something is not quite right. I don't feel those prolonged periods of childhood awe anymore, I don't make up elaborate scenarios in my mind. Not anymore. I do get concessional jolts of familiar nostalgia from time to time, even they do not last more than mere moments. A quick blink, to the world that once was. And it makes me realize what a precious part I've lost. Has the burden of growing up really made me this cold and pathetic? Did my quest for emotional independence somehow rendered my ability to be awed blunt? I don't know. But realizing this has disheartened me a lot. The magic is lost. The childish awe is gone. Chances are I may never get it back, and moments like these are crippling. It makes me want to cry out loud.....
Oh things I'd give just to feel the magic again.....

Artwork by Mary Grandpre

Artwork by Vladislav Pantic
"never tickle a sleeping dragon"