Hesse

When I was my daughter’s age - 16 - I was enthralled by the writings of Hermann Hesse. Stories of life-altering travels, internal exploration, philosophical and Romantic pondering...the forces of nature always present as sources of awe and wisdom.

I have thought recently of re-visiting these books but haven’t for fear that I might be disappointed. Their romanticism would likely no longer have the eloquent soul-moving reverberation it once had. I have not even shared them with my daughter, thinking they might be too much of another time.

I’m not a total cynic. But so many thoughts left by so many long-passed people now ring truer than ever...at this point in my journey. Life is short. The grass is always greener on the other side. Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. On and on. The world looks ever grimmer even as so many truly magnificent, gracious, inspiring and life-renewing events continue to occur.

We haven’t changed all that much - we humans. The Death of this and that is always announced. Like Painting. But humans live and die and time passes and so pass the things people want to do. Totalitarianism is the attempt to stop this process and we see how well that works. Entropy prevails. Death and Birth prevail.

Empires come and go and the present decline of the American empire reflects the same dramas as empires past. Greed, selfishness, jealousy, hypocrisy, lack of empathy and self-control - it spins forever on.

Maybe I should re-visit one of those wrinkled old books.