Another Quote from Joseph Campbell
As I ponder and wrestle with the sacred complexities of the White Witch of Narnia, (which is to say I do not have this week's essay done), let me share another delectable quote from Joseph Campbell. I found it online, so I can't tell you which of his books it's in, but here it is:
“Life is like arriving late for a movie, having to figure out what was going on without bothering everybody with a lot of questions, and then being unexpectedly called away before you find out how it ends.”
An old rival of mine shared practically the same insight many years ago. We were visiting his friend Roger who was then a freshman at Stanford and who was beginning to realize that being admitted to Stanford was a guarantee for life. It was 1968. We felt sorry for old people who would soon die without finding out what came next. 1968 was a momentous year in which the world lurched toward change. I really believed in the hope of all things new, to an end of hypocrisy and the callous repression of power. Now I am old. 1968 failed. But the ending feels closer than ever.
“Life is like arriving late for a movie, having to figure out what was going on without bothering everybody with a lot of questions, and then being unexpectedly called away before you find out how it ends.”
An old rival of mine shared practically the same insight many years ago. We were visiting his friend Roger who was then a freshman at Stanford and who was beginning to realize that being admitted to Stanford was a guarantee for life. It was 1968. We felt sorry for old people who would soon die without finding out what came next. 1968 was a momentous year in which the world lurched toward change. I really believed in the hope of all things new, to an end of hypocrisy and the callous repression of power. Now I am old. 1968 failed. But the ending feels closer than ever.
Comments