I think we all look for clues that we are not utterly alone... Clues we find in literature and paintings and music and even someoneโs eyes; clues that demonstrate that someone else has felt the same indescribable feelings, seen the same things or passed by the spot even if it was by candlelight three hundred years ago. It means everything, like finding footprints in the sand of a deserted island.
Jonathan HullI wonder if music is the only expression of the soul that is not hopelessly compromised in communication.
Jonathan HullSo who is better off, those who share love long enough to see which parts inevitably fade or those who lose their love when it is still pristine? I think each is lonely in a different place, though if you lose your love while it is still perfect you at least have a clear explanation for your grief, while if it gradually crumbles in your hands you do not.
Jonathan HullIt is said that life is too short, and thatโs quite true, unless you are lonely. Loneliness can bring time to its knees; an absolute and utter standstill.
Jonathan HullI think we all look for clues that we are not utterly alone... Clues we find in literature and paintings and music and even someoneโs eyes; clues that demonstrate that someone else has felt the same indescribable feelings, seen the same things or passed by the spot even if it was by candlelight three hundred years ago. It means everything, like finding footprints in the sand of a deserted island.
Jonathan HullWhy does the longing for love have to be so acute, like a desperate thirst? Is it because love is wanting to be saved and we can never really be saved? Maybe love is really born of our fears. Love is the heartโs desire for a painkiller; a tearful plea for a great big epidural. Yes thatโs it: love is the only anesthesia that really works. And so people with broken hearts are really those who are just coming to, and if youโve ever seen someone come out of general anesthesia, you know that it looks a lot like the beginnings of a broken heart.
Jonathan HullIf love doesnโt triumph, it ought to. For love is the one thing we have that feels more powerful than even death; the only respite from lifeโs wretched absurdity. The magic of love is not that it contains all the answers, itโs that it eliminates the need for so many pressing questions. For love makes us feel like gods--and thatโs what weโre really after, isnโt it?
Jonathan Hull