Desiderata

This one hit me hard and put me in my place...mostly because of where I happen to be at this point in my life. I think at times we all lose track of the fact that life retains its beauty in spite off all of the compromising circumstances we may encounter. This is why the last stanza rings true for me, because above all it is important that we do not lose sight of hope in the face of adversity. I cannot articulate well enough how important this is. For me, it manifests itself in faith... in people, in nature, and in God. The past year has put me through trials in all of these areas. But the remarkable thing is that I never lost faith in all three at the same time... and that remaining element would pull me back to the others. Perhaps this is why I am having such a difficult time now. When that faith is not returned, it hurts quite a bit more than it would if it were not there in the first place. I am rambling now, but my point is that it is important to remain true to oneself, and have faith in the fact that we are all children of the universe, as the poem says. We have a right to be here, and it will work out in the end... even if it's not exactly how we wanted it to be.

Creeper

Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy Ray Bradbury? This is a haunting story that is reminiscent of Brave New world moreso than 1984. It just makes one think about how careful we should be with technology. Granted, this specific scenario is probably out of the realm of possibility, but it still provides something to think about. Most of the parallels to Brave New World come in the warnings about the possibilities of technology. But really I would just like to ramble coherently about how interesting I found The Veldt to be. So this is what I will do.
While the concept of patricide (or matricide...) does not enchant me, it is a captivating story. I have read Bradbury's The Illustrated Man... and became an early science fiction fan because of it. Thus my familiarity with this story... that I have just now realized. In my own defense, it was a long time ago. Anyway, I am getting to the point. I enjoy dystopian literature because it provokes deep thought about the human condition. This is not something many people enjoy thinking about, but it's why I love Shakespeare and science fiction... and all of the things I love. I like to think.. deeply, about the things I do not understand.

Jealousy is a wicked emotion

Yes. Jealousy is a wicked emotion. So wicked, in fact, that it would overcome life in this battle. The princess cannot bear to lose her love to another, and so she would rather have him die. This is selfish, but jealousy is the most difficult emotion to combat. There is no direct opposite... at least not one I can think of, making it hard to stop once one falls victim to it. The author spends a great deal of time discussing how much the princess hates the woman behind the door, and that she had previous worries about her lover and the woman potentially getting involved. Unfortunately, the man would probably not expect this of the princess, and would trust her one hundred percent...and would walk to his death.