Thursday, November 7, 2013

The Only Unforgivable Thing

Marillion has a song called The Only Unforgivable Thing, and it's one of my favorite songs ever. It is beautiful, sad, honest, scary and it has a sense of catharsis to it. I always end up feeling so much better after having listened to that song. They have other songs like it, Neverland probably being their most famous catharsis song. But this isn't an entry about Marillion, though they go on tour this weekend, and I'm not going to be there...a thought that keeps bringing me to my knees, but, silver lining, my soulmate has promised to come with me to the next Marillion weekend, so I'll be satisfied, though I suspect a  few green thoughts this weekend. But in true Much Ado About Shakespeare style, I'm rambling on about things that hardly is the point. My point with this entry is; what is the only unforgivable thing? Oh, yes, welcome to one of the serious entries. I'm aware I haven't posted in a while, let's just say it's been a rather busy autumn, and not only in a good way. So why, do you ask, is the first entry since summer a serious one? Well, I think it has to be, because life isn't always fun and games.

What is the only unforgivable thing, and can we find it in the literature we so dearly love? Yes, without a shadow of a doubt, the literature I love, and talk about here, is full of characters faced with the choice of do or don't, the only unforgivable thing.
Aragorn takes two lifetimes to decide not to do the only unforgivable thing. He has avoided his fate long enough, and finally, at the black gates, he emerges as his true self. The true king of Gondor, Isildur's heir... and better yet, Elendil's heir, the first human king to fight Sauron.
Gollum is consumed by the only unforgivable thing, he cannot save himself. Even when Frodo "tames" him, he's still his own biggest enemy, and he is above anyone else Lord Of The Rings' tragic character, and falls under his own desire to follow his only desire. Not that following ones own desire is a bad thing, but when a desire for own gain becomes more important than, say, love and being surrounded by family and friends, then you end up losing.
Frodo almost loses that battle. Had Gollum not been there, Frodo's mind would have been lost to greed. Instead he loses a finger, which is a fair loss come to think of it. A loss I think he's happy about in hindsight. A finger for ones sanity, an easy choice, or is it?
Iago in Shakespeare's Othello is so jealous and so racist that he can't function as a normal human being. He can't enjoy his own life because a man he doesn't deem worthy has more power than himself. The only thing on his mind is to hurt the Moorish Othello. And the colour of his skin is highly important here. In his mind it is wrong that a Moor can have wealth and prosperity, and a beautiful wife as such. And, spoiler alert, he manages to ruin Othello's life, and Desdemona dies at Othello's hand. What makes a man (because this doesn't only happen in the stories of old) be so jealous of someone that he's willing to destroy both his own life and the life of the one he's envious of? Is there some kind of poetic justice I don't understand? What makes people hold on to grudge for years and years?
Some old disagreement makes the Capulets and the Montagues fight until two children dies (because Romeo and Juliet were thirteen year olds). And why should someone feel the need to decide who another person can or cannot see and love? What gives someone that kind of power? We are all in capacity of one true possession in life, our own life. We do not own anything or anyone else. So what gives people that kind of power?

I am being a bit too serious, I sense... But I think these are important questions to ask. I have just as much right to my place on this planet as Obama, or men in power (because statistics show that there are far more male leaders than female - I live in a country with a female leader, but I don't much care about her political views, she's against sharing and general human compassion, not to get political in any ways...). We should never excuse our existence, not to people in our close social groups, or to our governments. We are all children of the earth, and all of us came naked and full of prosperity into this world. A poor child in Sudan has just as much of a claim to his place on this planet as a child in wealthy Norway.

Though they manage to sort through it in the end (because it 's a comedy), both Beatrice and Benedict are victims of pride. They both know, deep down, that the other one is their other half, but they choose to bicker and quarrel for a while before finally seeing the truth. The truth is that they were born to spend their lives together, and they will only be happy once they realise said truth.
And having entered the word truth in this, we are close to something. Because what is unforgivable for one person is maybe completely okay for another person. We can also talk about truth in society vs truth inside the four walls of our homes. Some people find it perfectly acceptable to beat the crap out of spouses and children. We can argue that they have inner demons, but when is it acceptable to abuse someone else's God given body and right to dignity and life? When? No matter someone's past, what gives them the right? "I was beaten myself, so I hit people"...? Yet, people live in these conditions, sometimes a lifetime, and accept it. How so? Is that the only unforgivable thing?
Is it the only unforgivable thing to lie down in self pity, blaming the world for our own shortcomings? Sometimes we actually have to kick ourselves in the backside and get over ourselves. I'm obviously not talking about people who are ill, and need rest, love and care. But then again surfaces another dilemma, when is it up to other people to judge when enough is enough? Is that something other people can decide?
So, is the only unforgivable thing to bee a victim of the seven sins of the bible? I think we as human beings all fall short if this is the rule of the universe. I personally think it's not that easy. And lust, for one, is not only a bad thing, if you ask me. And the others can be quite handy as well, when used controlled, and not taking over ones entire being. Determining what is unforgivable is difficult.

I actually think that the only unforgivable thing is denying oneself a chance to be as good as one can. No matter the situation, country we're born in, the prospect of future we're faced with, to be anything less than we can is unforgivable. Not on a global scale, not in a society scale, not even in the scale of four walls... but on a highly personal scale. A person who use violence knows it's wrong. A person who do drugs knows it's wrong, a person who cheats on someone knows it's wrong,  a person who lies knows it's wrong... a person who kills knows it's wrong, deep down, we all know this...no matter the cause, we all know! I know this sounds a bit naive and silly, but as we have an obligation to the mutual good of our society, we also have an obligation towards ourselves. We have an obligation to be the best we that we can. And no one can do it for us. And that is, I think, the only unforgivable thing, to give in to, and blame, everything else in the world, than to look to the only one who can make the changes that needs to come.
Only YOU can change you x x

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