Temptation

I just finished reading the 'Temptation' by Douglas Kennedy about a screen writer who becomes famous and leaves his wife and kid for an actress and then everything falls apart for him as he;s accused of plagiarism... he finally gets it all back... Along the way there are many twists and a all powerful rich man trying to play 'God', and the writer falls in love with his wife. It was an interesting read.

The book ended with some food for thought...

"Daddy, she asked, 'can you tell the story without the big bad wolf?

I considered this for a moment, wondering how could I make it work:

'Let's see now.. there's a house made of straw. There's a house made of sticks. There's a house made of bricks. What happens next? Do they form, a residents' association? Sorry, sweetheart, the story doesn't really work without the Big Bad Wolf.'

Why doesn't it work? Because all stories are about crisis. Yours. Mine. The guy sitting opposite you on the train as you read this. Everything's narrative, after all. And all narrative - all storytelling - confronts a basic truth. We need crisis: the anguish, the longing, the sense of possibility, the fear of failure, the pining for the life we imagine ourselves wanting, the despair for the life we have. Crisis somehow let us believe that we are important; that everything isn't just of the moment; that, somehow, we can transcend insignificance. More than that, crisis makes us realize that, like it or not, we are always shadowed by the Big Bad Wolf. The danger that lurks behind everything. The danger we do to ourselves.

But who, ultimately, is the mastermind of our crisis? Who is the controlling hand? To some, it's God. To others, the state. Then again, it might be the person you want to blame for all your griefs, your husband, your mother, your boss. Or maybe - just maybe - it's yourself.

I guess sometimes we do seem to need drama 'good or bad' in our lives, or create it when it is non existent...which is unfortunately why most people aren't happy... there;s always that thing in the horizon that we would like to have and with which things would be perfect...so most of the time are unable to live in and enjoy the present moment... I guess i;m telling myself this while writing this...and the marketing campaigns and the commercials use this side of our human nature to their advantage, telling us how our lives will be perfect with that new car or luxury watch or other material thing, and we fall for them...

Sometimes feels like i;m living from one goal to another, waiting for something...but what happens after obtaining that goal? start waiting for something else?... So again I;m reminding my self that I should try to take one day at a time and enjoy and live in the moment...Have to keep reminding myself to enjoy the journey, cos happiness is the journey and not the destination!