Alive
"But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for." - John Keating
Seeing a great piece of art, listening to a musical score, or watching an imagined world come alive on screen can lift our spirits to higher ground. Sometimes, it takes one of these experiences to remind me of the incredible miracle of being alive.
Nietzche said: “There is one thing one has to have: either a soul that is cheerful by nature, or a soul made cheerful by work, love, art, and knowledge.”
Here are some eternal muses I have found for some inspiration on rainy days. Some themes in these works of art: the triumph of the human spirit over struggle, the ability for love to catalyze change, the exploration of the psyche.
Fiction:
The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera (On love in times of war and the difficult decisions one makes under tough conditions)
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (On the repeating lessons of history and impact on family, tradition)
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (On the intimate struggles of one family out West during the Dust Bowl)
The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck (On one farmer’s rags to riches story during 20th Century China)
Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami (Exploring intimacy and closeness)
Peace Like a River - Leif Enger (Truly gorgeous storytelling, with characters I loved enough to want to protect)
Calvin & Hobbes - Bill Watterson (Comfort in the form of comics)
The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (My favorite children’s book for us big kiddos)
Nonfiction:
Boys In the Boat - Daniel James Brown (On small town farm boys’ road to triumph in the Berlin Olympics, go Huskies!!!)
The Things They Carried - Tim O’Brien (Tales of the brutality and humanity of war, told by someone who saw it from the front lines)
When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi (Resonates with me on personal level. A truly brave memoir from an incredible person about his race against death)
Man’s Search for Meaning - Victor Frankl (A doctor’s journal of how he survived during the Holocaust, through reimagining the purpose of struggle)
Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates (A father’s poetic letter to his son, about racial identity in America, a raw display of vulnerable, protective paternal love)
The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion (A stream of consciousness look at grief and loss, in the aftermath of her husband passing away)
Minor Feelings - Cathy Park Hong (A powerful examination of growing up Asian American)
Factfulness - Hans Rosling (A much needed dose of optimism about how our world is changing for the better)
Hunger - Roxanne Gay (On her relationship with food, body image, and the impossible beauty standards women face in society)
Meditations - Marcus Aurelius (A guide post for personal growth and character development, particularly during trying times)
Walden & Civil Disobedience - Henry David Thoreau (An ode to self reliance, being independent minded, being one with nature)
Eating Animals - Jonathan Safran Foer (The most compelling case for vegetarianism I have read)
Essays by George Saunders (For true soul enrichment. He is an angel.)
Essays by David Sedaris (For a good laugh and a case study in writing with self deprecation)
Film:
Whiplash (How badly do you want it? Blood, sweat, and tears pave the way to greatness)
Amelie (That piano score, the tenderness of a private life)
Casablanca (Drama, gunfire, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, perfection)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Every scene is a period painting, ending scene set to Vivaldi’s Summer)
Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger (An unforgettable heroine’s journey)
Moonlight (Such pain, so beautifully and tenderly expressed)
Good Will Hunting (Robin Williams as the therapist we all wish we had)
Shawshank Redemption (“Hope is a dangerous thing”)
The Terminal (Heartwarming, period)
Forrest Gump (Aren’t we all just feathers blowing in the wind?)
Eat, Drink, Man, Woman (Encapsulates life and values as I remember from China)
Motorcycle Diaries
Million Dollar Baby
Classical Music:
Cello Concerto in E Minor, Op 85 - Edward Elgar
The Planets, Venus - Gustav Holst
Four Seasons - Vivaldi
Liebestraum - Franz Listz
Reverie - Debussy
Poetry:
The Guesthouse - Jalaluddin Rumi
Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman
If - Rudyard Kipling
Song of Myself, 51 - Walt Whitman
Song of Myself, 52 - Walt Whitman
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening - Robert Frost
Essays:
Joan Didion’s ode to New York, “Goodbye to All That”
Einstein’s essay, “The World As I See It”
George Saunders’ commencement speech at Syracuse University
Music Videos:
Lately, FJK’s live sessions
Glitter in the Air - Pink
I’ll Follow You Into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
I’ll Try Anything Once - The Strokes