Last night I saw the movie "Before Sunrise" with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy and it got me thinking about the concept of stolen time. The meeting between Hawke's and Delpy's character on the train was strictly accidental and wasn't supposed to turn into a rendez-vous that lasted until daybreak. Yet somehow, it did. And somehow in between the time of departure and the time of arrival they chose to create their own little universe. A universe created solely for the purpose of a connection and a desire to pursue it.
It made we wonder how many of those connections are made in the world? Is it possible for two people to jump out of their normal lives and create a seperate universe, free from everybody else and available only to them? Maybe these connections happen all of the time? Maybe that's what they call love? An escape from reality into a world where only two people exist, living on stolen time.
While I was watching the movie I couldn't help but admire the wonderful writing that has gone into this movie. So you too could understand what I'm talking about, here are a few quotes from the movie:
I believe if there's any kind of God it wouldn't be in any of us, not you or me but just this little space in between. If there's any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone sharing something. I know, it's almost impossible to succeed but who cares really? The answer must be in the attempt.
OK, well this was my thought: 50,000 years ago, there are not even a million people on the planet. 10,000 years ago, there's, like, two million people on the planet. Now there's between five and six billion people on the planet, right? Now, if we all have our own, like, individual, unique soul, right, where do they all come from? You know, are modern souls only a fraction of the original souls? 'Cause if they are, that represents a 5,000 to 1 split of each soul in the last 50,000 years, which is, like, a blip in the Earth's time. You know, so at best we're like these tiny fractions of people, you know, walking... I mean, is that why we're so scattered? You know, is that why we're all so specialized?
Now I don't know about you, but I thought this was some pretty good writing.
The movie itself is quite minimalistic, it's all about two people walking around in a city, discussing their POVs and occasionally sharing secrets they normally wouldn't tell to a complete stranger. They realize that what they have isn't just some boy-meets-girl-and-wants-to-hook-up-with-her situation. It actually goes a lot deeper and it's quite fascinating to see how their relationship evolves and how the ever-encroaching dawn is allowing them to open up to one another in a way they've never experienced before.
I also couldn't help think about what Celine said about God existing in the space in between two people. How marvellous the thought that there lies a sort of divinity in between what people say and do! Come to think of it, if you can find so deep a connection with someone while living on a planet with approximately 6.7 billion people, I'd say that's quite extraordinary.
In our hustle and bustle lives where speed and precision are the two dominant demands, it can be quite hard to find what you're looking for. Choices are made in the blink of an eye, rarily thinking about the consequences. We shake hands with people whose names we forget the instant they leave our sight. We pass about a thousand lives while crossing the street, but we never consider getting to know one of them. All we see are fleeting impressions. And even those are tainted by prejudice and personal taste.
I'm not saying we should get to know everybody we lay eyes on, but nobody said we have to be so closed off as well. Think of those millions of kids who shut out the world with their headphones, effectively becoming a (i)Pod-generation. Each day, millions of connections are severed before they actually have a chance to begin, just by putting those headphones on. Perhaps, within one of those countless possible connections, there might have been the one that really mattered. The one that would have made it all worth while. But we'll never know and what kills me, is that most of us wouldn't even care.
So maybe next time, when we're on a train, boat, airplane or even on foot, we might look up from our shoes, shut off our iPods and allow ourselves to actually see the people around us and let them see us. You never know where a friendly smile might take you.
Now I don't know about you, but I thought this was some pretty good writing.
The movie itself is quite minimalistic, it's all about two people walking around in a city, discussing their POVs and occasionally sharing secrets they normally wouldn't tell to a complete stranger. They realize that what they have isn't just some boy-meets-girl-and-wants-to-hook-up-with-her situation. It actually goes a lot deeper and it's quite fascinating to see how their relationship evolves and how the ever-encroaching dawn is allowing them to open up to one another in a way they've never experienced before.
I also couldn't help think about what Celine said about God existing in the space in between two people. How marvellous the thought that there lies a sort of divinity in between what people say and do! Come to think of it, if you can find so deep a connection with someone while living on a planet with approximately 6.7 billion people, I'd say that's quite extraordinary.
In our hustle and bustle lives where speed and precision are the two dominant demands, it can be quite hard to find what you're looking for. Choices are made in the blink of an eye, rarily thinking about the consequences. We shake hands with people whose names we forget the instant they leave our sight. We pass about a thousand lives while crossing the street, but we never consider getting to know one of them. All we see are fleeting impressions. And even those are tainted by prejudice and personal taste.
I'm not saying we should get to know everybody we lay eyes on, but nobody said we have to be so closed off as well. Think of those millions of kids who shut out the world with their headphones, effectively becoming a (i)Pod-generation. Each day, millions of connections are severed before they actually have a chance to begin, just by putting those headphones on. Perhaps, within one of those countless possible connections, there might have been the one that really mattered. The one that would have made it all worth while. But we'll never know and what kills me, is that most of us wouldn't even care.
So maybe next time, when we're on a train, boat, airplane or even on foot, we might look up from our shoes, shut off our iPods and allow ourselves to actually see the people around us and let them see us. You never know where a friendly smile might take you.
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