Saturday, July 4, 2009
The unbearable lightness of being
Near the end of my appointment last week the dentist asked if I'm anemic. “Your gums are pale.” I've certainly been feeling psychologically anemic for the past few years. I was telling Maureen right before we went to Leonard Cohen that I didn't feel excited about seeing him; all my gloating was feigned. I'm not excited about the possibility of getting my own plot of land to farm on Facebook. I'm not even excited about being on holidays next week. I would say that there's a sort of ennui that's entered my existence, except that word brings up images of someone draped languidly over a fainting couch and that's not what it's like. I keep thinking of the unbearable lightness of being. Not the movie: I wasn't really sure what it was about except that I remember being rather transfixed by Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche. It's what the phrase means for me, that sense that what I imagine are weighty and substantial things, aren't. It's not the feeling that those things are going to disappear one day, it's the feeling that they don't really exist. But maybe like Nicole Kidman in The Others, it's me who is the ghost.
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14 comments:
Um, ARE you anemic? As one, I can tell you that a little green iron pill every morning goes a long way to restoring one's outlook.
I know nothing about anemia -- but take care of yourself!
An evening class in pole-dancing might help.
Will you be seeing your nephews next week? They always cheer you up.
Well, belly dancing didn't help. And yes, my nephews are coming down.
Too much Buddha, too little Epicurus.
Two things came to mind when I read this: I had so many disappointments as a child that I taught myself to not anticipate things with excitement so I wouldn't be so disappointed. AND that I remember really loving Milan Kundera back in the 80s (see my 365 post http://44for365.blogspot.com/2006/09/242365-dagmar.html), but these days all I seem to be aware of is the unbearable tightness of being. Just ask my massage therapist.
1. I'm excited if you are getting your own Facebook plot of land.
2. I have a friend who said her iron pills changed her life. She used to beg off going out to anything after 7 pm she was so tired, until she popped the iron pills.
3. I hate the fact that you're not feeling like I imagine Helen should feel like.
4. I can't get over the American spelling of anaemia.
5. I've broken all the rules of blog commentary by making too many points.
I love you Mali.
But what I was going to ask was how's your other vitamins (and I can't get over the English pronunciation of that word, or "iodine")?
My problem was D. Oh, and B complex. Things improve with the right balance...
that would be 'vutamuns' in Mali's case, of course:)... maybe you need more Jeremy Irons in your diet, Helen.....
My former doctor was English and pronounced iodine "ee-oh-deen". I swear I didn't know what she was talking about until I saw it in print (another item I was low on...)
I think I need more Jeremy Irons in my diet.
Try kelp.
Instead of Jeremy Irons? Could kelp really be a substitute?
No, I think Jeremy's Iron is more easily absorbed than kelp's.
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