Pierre's #10: Last Words

Dear Marie,

When people talk about good endings in life, they just emphasize on being in a good enough state to notice what's around them and appreciate what they've been through. They wish that by the end, everything would turn out just about right for them to feel satisfied about their whole life.
I never cared about such things, except that I really want to be healthy enough not to be annoying to my children... Our children.
As "Looking for Alaska" (the John Green novel) starts, it talks about how Miles is so fascinated by famous last words that it becomes kind of a hobby to remember such words.
My favorite ones, are those of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as he was in his garden with his wife at the age of 71, he turned to her and said "You are wonderful!" then grasped his chest and died.

Compared to all the magnificent words said by others, his were the most perfect ones because they were the ones that mattered the most in any man's life.
And I know it's not a good thing to think of last moments while we're just starting out on our journey in life, but I want that kind of endings, perhaps it won't be the most spectacular, nor will it be remembered by so many, but I like to think that the last second of a man's life would stretch out for eternity as a reverberation to his last words, along with the his life played back in an infinite loop.
I hope I hear from you soon my dear.
Til then,
your best friend,
Pierre.

Pierre's #9: Tabula Rasa

Dear Marie,

I've been thinking a lot lately about the book that I'm trying to write. Just thinking. I haven't written a single word in so long; I have actually been jumping between new ideas for other stories and actually considering to start over, then again I know that it won't lead to anything because then I won't learn anything new, nor feel like I've produced something, no matter how crappy it is.
It makes me think about a lot of things we do half-way then stop and convince ourselves that "someday" we'll get back to them but never do, things we postpone til forever just because it's easy; just because the idea of "a fresh start" is always beautiful, like a new born with no memory.
In psychology, it is called "Tebula rasa", which means a "blank slate", and it refers to the idea that newborns have no knowledge. Everything starts from scratch.
It reflects a lot of what's inside of all of us, how much we tend to get rid of all the mistakes and wrong attempts that we made our entire lives, just so that we can redo them "correctly".

Things shouldn't be that way. No one should consider what they do as drafts of an eventual perfect version. No one should ever think of their lives as a notebook where you get to tear a paper off every time you mess things up, because then, you won't learn how to be a better version of yourself, then you'll end up making more mistakes than you would've expected, and allow yourself to tear too many papers and eventually run out of them...
Mistakes are a beautiful thing. They are what makes life what it is. Like an unusual splash of colors in a painting that can evoke so many things inside you, or an unusual melody that can trigger feelings that you never thought you could feel.
I heard a saying once: "We like people for their qualities, but it's their imperfections that make us love them". I think everyone can relate to that.
My dear Marie,
Don't ever think of the things you do as mistakes or think that you've wasted time doing something in vain. Everything that you do is for a reason, whether you know that reason or not, and every bit of what you do will always be part of you, so embrace it.
Til I hear from you again,
Yours,
Pierre.

Marie's #5: About Sharing

Dear Pierre,

I was absent again, but my absence this time was because I got stuck in a somewhat isolated place on some very heavy rainy days. but I enjoyed it anyway and I can’t tell you how much I would have loved to share it with you…

..How much I want to share everything with you.

It really amazes me sometimes, the thought that every single human on earth needs one partner to share some and maybe all of his life with. Those small details that not even your parents paid attention to and the silly dreams and plans you’d never thought you could spit out, all become so important and special when it comes to that one specific person.

 

I really love the fact that between every single idea that crosses my mind and executing it there is a tiny little step called “telling you” that I’m pretty sure means so much to both of us, and deeper than its meaning I think it helped me so much break out of my shell, from the fear of “ what is the world going to think about this” because after it I will have my partner by my side and the rest of the world’s opinion won’t really matter that much.

I know this letter isn’t much but I gotta dwell on so many ideas to share with you in the coming rest of our lives.

With true love,

Marie.

 

Pierre's #8: Pastel

Dear Marie,

As I was trying to find some good music on YouTube, I came across an old song, one of my favorites by Radiohead. It's called "Fake Plastic Trees".
The song, like not so many other ones that I really love, makes me think of a life I have always dreamt of since I was a kid, a world with an eternal pastel sunset, a soft breeze and an utter feeling of serenity.
Sometimes I'd wish that somewhere in an unknown afterlife, there would be a heaven where you get to ask for anything you want, and I'd get to ask to live in that world.

I also get that feeling when riding a bus late in the afternoon, or at home while lying down after a long tiring day. I'd forget about whatever trouble that's been going on my mind and just ponder on the details of such place, without even imagining myself in it.
Maybe all these places that I always imagine only exist in my mind, and I will only get to ask for them in a beautiful afterlife, but that doesn't matter, because the mere thought is enough to keep me optimistic about so much in life.
My dear Marie, maybe someday we'll run into places and moments in life together, moments that, to some people, might seem like hard times and misfortunes, moments where we don't need anything but our love and our way of enjoying things to make unforgettable memories.
I like to believe that a lot, and I hope you do as well.

Til then,
Your best friend,
Pierre.

P.S.: Some songs to listen to: Home - Resonance / Porter Robinson - Goodbye to a World

[Picture Credit: K. Mendes]