Quote of the Week III
"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans".
This is a line from the John Lennon song "Beautiful Boy", which was written about his son Sean. A lot of people seem to interpret it as emphasising the importance of planning. To me, this is the boring way of interpreting it. In fact, it is the complete opposite of how I read it.
What I get out of the line is that life is a by-product of our actions, thoughts, our experiences, etc. If you sit down and try to plan life, it won't come, like a watched pot that doesn't boil. But if you're busy doing things such as meeting people, experiencing things, attempting challenges, then life is what comes from that. Another way of putting it is that life only happens when you're caught up in it, when you're a part of the process of it as opposed to sitting outside of it.
But what exactly is meant by "life happens"? I think people who have never experienced life not happening can not fully understand the concept of life happening, because it's all they have ever known. Most depressed people have experienced happiness at some time or other, but there's probably only a percentage of happy people who have experienced depression (that is, the experience of being isolated from life, I'm not just talking about a temporary change in mood).
Right now, life for me is not happening.
This is a line from the John Lennon song "Beautiful Boy", which was written about his son Sean. A lot of people seem to interpret it as emphasising the importance of planning. To me, this is the boring way of interpreting it. In fact, it is the complete opposite of how I read it.
What I get out of the line is that life is a by-product of our actions, thoughts, our experiences, etc. If you sit down and try to plan life, it won't come, like a watched pot that doesn't boil. But if you're busy doing things such as meeting people, experiencing things, attempting challenges, then life is what comes from that. Another way of putting it is that life only happens when you're caught up in it, when you're a part of the process of it as opposed to sitting outside of it.
But what exactly is meant by "life happens"? I think people who have never experienced life not happening can not fully understand the concept of life happening, because it's all they have ever known. Most depressed people have experienced happiness at some time or other, but there's probably only a percentage of happy people who have experienced depression (that is, the experience of being isolated from life, I'm not just talking about a temporary change in mood).
Right now, life for me is not happening.
posted by Banana Mango at 9/13/2005 10:47:00 pm
4 Comments:
Despite my obvious contempt for you, I am sorry that life does not seem to be happening for you. Can you pin point exactly why you think this is? And what do you hope to do about it?
I dont agree with you on your interpretation anyhow (surprise surprise) to me, the use of the word "other" in the line, indicates that the plans are not directly associated with life or living. Instead it's those seemingly 'big' things that get in our way, such as the pursuit of a career, a house, a long term partner etc. Im not saying we're all like that, but to me, the quote is critiquing this mainstream way of life--and perhaps suggesting that we're really alive and in life when we just stop and pay attention to the smaller things because while we're busy making 'plans', life is passing us by.
Interesting interpretation. I think it makes sense in the context of John Lennon's life.
Actually, I think that interpretation is flawed. If it was "life is what is happening while you're busy making other plans", that would fit with your interpretation. But the quote, "life is what happens while..." suggests to me that life happens as a result of that busy-ness, rather than it being something that would have been happening anyway, let alone something that's passing us by due to that busy-ness.
I dont think i was suggesting that life doesn't happen as a result of that busy-ness.
I was merely pointing out that it's because of the busy-nes that we dont recognise 'life' or what it means to be truly alive. Because we are so immersed in our 'plans' that are unrelated to Lennon's notions of 'life' or living.
I think their relationship is at least correlational if not causal--one thing happens (life) while one is doing something else (busy making plans)--but i think Lennon's point is not just that life 'happens'--but the conditions under which this occurs and his observation that we do not seem to recognise it occuring.
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