what are your thoughts on fate...destiny...past lives?
inyeon - 인연 - the ties between two people over the course of their lives; one's connection with certain people or things (wikipedia)
that concept was at the core of a quiet, thoughtful film called Past Lives by Celine Song, a film I just finished despite needing to finish two research papers by this weekend's end. maybe after this post I will settle enough to resume.
Past Lives circles around the concept of inyeon, a Korean Buddhist philosophical term. in the film, Na Young (Nora) & Hae Sung befriend and endure childhood together in Seoul until the 12 year old girl's family decides to immigrate to Canada. ten years later, the internet brings them together virtually. twelve years after that they meet again IRL.
the beauty is in the way Song weaves the narrative and empowers all of the characters, but especially Nora, to own the relational aspects of love, life, and destiny through the lens of inyeon. there are layers of "what if", however they are never weighed down with regret
8000 layers is the amount of time that finally brings two together, it is said through the unbroken thread of fate. a bit of research on the 8000 layers and inyeon pointed to Korean, Chinese, and Japanese folklore as well as philosophy. the Chinese folktale specifically indicates a red thread that is bestowed to a newborn by the grandmother spirit. it is a beautiful concept albeit with many questions.
we in the west who are of european decent seem to live life with a great deal of pragmatism because our culture is steeped in capitalistic pursuits where wealth and objects are more prized & prioritized than emotional and relational well being. if anyone questions this, please check american society's problem with guns, racism, drug abuse, and overpopulated prisons. [post for another day]
And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself
beloved on the earth.
(Raymond Carver, Late Fragment, 1989)
the above poem was in my inbox tonight after watching the film while still steeping in contemplation about my own life's synchronicity. Nick Cave's generous Red Files newsletter contained it as he remembered the late Pogues singer, Shane MacGowan. Carver had it right. the wealth is to leave this world feeling beloved.
today (my saturday) I allowed myself to sit quiet for long stretches of time, thinking. a couple of text threads were the only "noise" unless you count the interstate rolling by. the sky was threatening snow so it remained grey with the trees stripped of all color and the rise near the river in shades of muted browns. yet there was such beauty to it all. as I explained to one text thread I rarely get to watch the evening creep in, so I'm lighting candles and letting their flames illuminate the room as the light travels westward.
yet while reveling in the generosity of this ability to just be, a quiet sadness crept in and kept me company as the room grew colder with nightfall. it dawned on me that it is the nature of the season. I think of all the "what might have beens" and "what ifs" much like the film.
tonight while letting the mind wander, I thought of a person who I've had a connection with that is undefinable or explainable. there have been too many unusual synchronicities over the years to not delve into metaphysics. ironically, whenever I think of our unique connection, the image of a red thread has materialized in my mind's eye. as the sky dimmed, I decided to release it all and told the universe I was done with it all...then I discovered Past Lives.
rarely do we know the whys or the hows. control is something that I unfortunately place on a pedestal, however, as a realist there is complete understanding that the driver seat does not have my name on it. perhaps the universe wanted to reinforce that notion of "not the driver" after I said, I'm done with this connection while wishing the person love & peace.
"if you leave something behind, you gain something too" -Past Lives
in the end, those souls whom we briefly meet we may never intimately know. perhaps it is our destiny to connect, and if we do how that connection finally resolves is not ours to control~
poet under construction 