Contribution to the lazy writers forum What is utterly depressing about Easter/New Life is the way that it requires the loss of an old life to begin it. It depends which side of the coin you look, I suppose. Which ever way you look it is a coin. It has two sides, the head, the tail, the enjoyable, the depressing. I think I am coming to understand that I see the depressing side most easily. I made myself smile when I wrote the first line.
Whatever! Jesus suffered and died and then came back, new and improved, sparkly and whizzy with bells on. And made himself available to save everyone. Hallelujah! Whoopee! Whatever!
My cat got run over and killed, I got very depressed and considered suicide and now with the help of legal drugs, I'm finally scraping myself off the floor to start my new, black-and-white-cat-free life. I would rather have him here, but he's not, so on with the new life. Whoopee. Hallelujah. Hooray. Fantastic. etc.
Life's brilliant you know. Changes all the time. Never a dull moment. Yep.
New Life is this years black. Old life is so last year. |
Written by amboline (183 comments posted) 4th April 2006 | Well, as this was the quickest Lazy Writers homework ever, I guess I'd probably post a review pretty promptly too...
This is certainly thought-provoking. I'm glad that you've bitten the bullet and taken a view on "New Life" that avoids the orthodoxies/cliches, even to an extent subverting them. As a Christian myself I believe in the objective importance of Easter, the resurrection etc., but I've seen close friends going through depression and I know that those words and images can be of little comfort when you can't actually see any light at the end of the tunnel. You certainly have my sympathy and good wishes there.
There's also a strong streak of black humour in this piece, which is really its most memorable feature. It does mean that it's hard to know whether your personal anecdotes are factual or exaggerated; but on the other hand, it adds a defiant note to your writing, which comes through really strongly. My only minor criticism might be that you could have made more of this in the first paragraph. Compared to the rest of the piece, it reads quite "straight", without the sarcasm.
Thanks for contributing. This piece is likely to spark off ideas from quite a few of the other Lazy Writers once they've read it. And congratulations on a great punchline too  | Confused the hell out of me
Written by johniebg (553 comments posted) 4th April 2006 | It hard to review this without commenting on what your saying. I have no idea whether you were actually suicidal that your cat died, the rest did seem pretty depressing but flippant.
For 1 in 6 people on this planet easter is no more than a couple days off work and certainly has no significance for resurection, or rejuvination, or redemption which is what this piece seems to head towards, therefore the impact is diminished.
If it wasnt so flippant then I think there would have been a genuine feeling of sorrow from this.
| ... and
Written by johniebg (553 comments posted) 4th April 2006 | | I meant 5 out of 6 poeple, bugger. |
Written by jean.day (2387 comments posted) 5th April 2006 | I think people who have had a beloved pet die will relate to the depression you felt. And the idea of somebody having to die for new life is also one I can relate to. A grandparent dies - a new child is born.
I certainly felt that your story made me think, which must be what writing should be about. | made me think, too .......
Written by Bagheera (685 comments posted) 5th April 2006 | ..... though I have to admit that for me as a Christian life without hope is no life at all ....
The existentialism popular in France for a number of years aleays struck me as depressive. If you insist on "living in the present" and claim that it is (1) useless to try to learn from the past and at the same time (2) impossible to guess at what the future may bring then you might just as well go out and throw yourself under the next bus that trundles along the road.....
..... which I can't accept as a "logical solution" 
Your posting doesn't strike me as such an "extreme" stance as I've just tried to describe, but it certainly made me stop and think. As jean.day says above, it's effective in managing to have that effect on me as a reader. | okay
Written by Iheoma (20 comments posted) 8th April 2006 | So tell me, what was this all about. Did I misunderstand your piece. Not sure about it, a little too casual. But yes, it makes the connection between life and death.  |
Written by Noman (11 comments posted) 15th April 2006 | What I observe to be true is that the beginning of something (a new life, if you like) is preceded by the end of something (a death, of sorts). For example, buying a new car means the end of a car-less existance, or the end of being a one car family, or the end of having your old car. Acquiring a cat means the end of a catless existance, the end of life without dirty cat litter, the end of loneliness. Losing a cat in a car accident means going from a 2-cat to a one cat existance etc etc.
Hence New life and Old life are inexorably connected, from the minutest change to cataclysmic events. Whether you choose to acknowledge these distinctions is up to you.
Although my treatment of jesus may have seemed trite or disrespectful, in fact there is something marvellous about how his death and resurrection encapsulates the old life/new life balance of everything for me. However, our culture debases the marvel of newness by making it a product, for sale. So what if the resurrected jesus was sold like the latest reformulated washing powder? Would you understand what was surrendered, what was attained any better? If the new and improved jesus washed you whiter, brighter, would you buy it?
Im quite new at this writing on line malarkey and I am being real, in the moment and speaking with my true voice to the best of my ability. This means not everybody will like what I write, some people might think its crap, depressing, boring, unstructured, whatever. If I have opened a space for you to consider these opinions or others, I am grateful. Your feedback is appreciated however it comes! |
Written by twriter (117 comments posted) 17th December 2006 | Very thought-provoking Norman!
VBW,
TW |
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