To Rise

It’s never easy to push against temptations. When we talked about Siddhartha, we discussed his initial downward spiral into temptation and worldly desire and how he was unable to make his change. But over time, he is able to rid himself of attachment and attain purity and tranquility. While this method of enlightenment works for Siddhartha, there are other forms of tranquility and peace in life.

In the video we saw in class today, we saw a person reading and enacting a poem that analyzes the meaning of life, what is meant by it, and how nostalgic it is to know that everything will one day disappear. It is quite the revelation but he does mention that he does not feel this way. His way of thinking persuades him to believe that there are things in life worth holding onto, and that squeezing tighter to things that we love is something that makes us human and whole. 

I will be frank, enlightenment ideas a tough topic to visualize. There is no direct definition, no instructions on how to attain it, no understanding of what it is gained after attaining it. What is so intriguing about enlightenment that makes people want to attain it? And that my friends, is that exact question that I think everyone who tries to attain it, gets stuck on. The reason for jumping over obstacles, getting past struggles, looking past grief and sorrow. What is there is unknown, and at the same time can be perfectly described. It is the genuine disassociation with people and things.

Maya Angelou’s Still I Rise kind of resonates with my life to this point. I haven’t been the brightest student in these 4 years and I know that. I know why people stand up when things don’t work. I know what drives me and others to make something happen. But most of all, I know what it means to struggle. I can’t fathom a life where struggle is nonexistent. It’s a part of the game. The game of life. Maya Angelou writes,”You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise.” Why this hits me so hard is something I can’t describe with words. The feeling where I know exactly what they mean but don’t know how to show it besides literally opening my memory storage office and looking for that scene in my life. That feeling is what makes this poem so relatable and it opens a whole new world of thinking for me.

We see the contrast between enlightenment and attaining the disassociation from all things and the act of squeezing tight and holding on to things in the material world. It is a breathtaking moment to find the meaning of both these sides, or at least I believe that is the case from what I’ve seen, because I have yet to truly experience both these sides of my story.