A method in madness
In putting together a new site, it proper that in this commissioning, a new set of standards should be crafted, new goals should be target, and a fresh explanation should be broadcast.
This seems like a good place for a mission statement: We need modern allegories.
The term “allegory” is defined as “a representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form.” More simply put, it is “a visible symbol representing an abstract idea.”
In this day and age, we seem far removed from the great writers who employed allegory like Dante and Bunyan. Even some allegories from the 20th century, like C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, seem disconnected from the race most of us run in this fast-paced existence.
It doesn’t need to be this way.
I believe there are allegories to be discovered in everyday life. I believe there is always something going on beneath the surface, just out of view. It’s easy to miss, but I believe if we look closely we can discover more about the way the world is crafted.
I’ve heard professors presuppose that there is no meaning in life. I’ve always bristled at that supposition, but then again, I’ve long looked at things differently.
I recall times dating back to fifth grade when I would take up less popular opinions and stand up for them just for the sake of arguing. In essays, I’d try to figure out what most people would write about and then I’d try to argue for the under-represented view. For example, when regarding the gifts O. Henry’s beloved magi, I would argue that the gift of hair was a greater sacrifice than the heirloom watch.
In that same year, I was introduced to the tale of Don Quixote (or “Quijote” as my Spanish teacher would remind me in later years). He instantly became a hero in my eyes, and remains so to this day.
In my personal drive to be antagonistic, I took a stance to be contrary that I still man today for different reasons.
I have argued, both in the past and presently, though many would consider him a fool, Don Quixote is one of the wisest characters in fiction.
Granted, he harassed barbers, turned a cellar of wineskins into pincushions, set a group of political prisoners free who promptly turned on him, and, most famously, charged a windmill with the call to “Lay on, and cursed be him that first cries, ‘Hold, enough!”
But I would argue that he was not a man driven insane by dream, but that he possessed a noble vision regardless of the fantasies.
He saw something honorable in people that the world had given up on. He saw leadership and loyalty in lowly Sancho Panza. He could still spy innocence in the worldly-wise and world-weary Dulcinea. He believed he could make a difference in a world where chivalry and brotherhood had been abandoned in the ashes of former glory.
Don Quixote tried to shine a light in a dark, dark world. His heroism is in dreaming, no matter how impossible the visions may be.
Though I answered the call to fight for the improbable in middle school as a twisted way of rebelling, somewhere along the way it became natural. I don’t know if it was through practice or subconsciously soaking in that belief, but I truly began to look at the world in terms of daily lessons to be learned.
The peculiar become routine and life became one big after-school special.
I admit we humans in habit one great big stupid world. I describe myself as a “cynical optimist” who admits the planet is really messed up, but still holds fast to the conclusion we can do something positive about it.
This is how I normally think. Frightening, isn’t it?
I’ve deemed this site “Live paradoxes.” That refers to my belief that to have a solid, noteworthy life, one has to embrace a series of seemingly polar experiences that all lead to a better existence.
In deeming this site, “live paradoxes,” I refer doubly to “live,” the noun, and “live,” the adjective. I refer to “existing and experiencing” and the property of being “alive or sparking, crackling with life.”
One can be rich in poverty, if they know how to properly value what they have. To advance, one needs to know when to rest. To move oneself up in the world, a person should learn how to take proper care of others.
These are hard things to believe, and even more difficult to apply, but they are what I am trying to base my life (and this site) upon.
Sounds crazy?
Well, consider yourself welcomed to my world. The accommodations may be sparse, but there is always vacancy, and during your stay there will be plenty of mints to put on your pillow (as soon as I figure out where Housekeeping put the bag…)
Join me as I explore life as allegory.
It should be worth the trip.
