Sunday, March 18, 2007

Pieces

. . .

He does not see people around him. He sees pieces of what Man can be. His analytical faculty identifies among many components of a person the pieces that matter, that are right, that are good. But men have a low quality; they don't take care of themselves. They lay like a stone on a sand, never touched by the sea, never brushed by the water, never smoothened by the particles of salt. They lay on the sand, a few feet away from the ever-changing waterline. They corrode under the blazing sun, weakened by the shifting wind, scarfed by all into a thing that never was and never will be.

He glances at a girl as she goes by. He does so in a quest to find a full being. One that is not stitched, but is self-built, where pieces are not assembled by a random event, but a product of a concrete goal set forth by a conscious mind aware of its action and its product.

He looks for a few moments longer. He does not like her, but he sees a part of her that is close to an image he has in his mind, the perfect woman, the equal. He judges, he pays attention, but not to her. Instead, he studies a quality that he has chosen. He ponders and plays with a concept, fitting it into his knowledge, taking it apart and combining again, validating and checking. Once more, an image appears before his eyes, a description of someone he's looking for, a template he automatically applies to women he sees and hears about. Most don't pass even a shape test of their minds. He has found that is the way - most are of no value and no concern. He is astonished again by their being.

His eyes drop back to his work.

He knows the one exists. He's sure of it. He can see himself gravitating along a path that brings him closer to his ideal, his equal, but for now he turns back to his thoughts - much to think about, much to do. The person he's looking for must be earned, must be matched, must be awaited.

. . .

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you for writing this. I am not amazed at your words, but at what they describe because what they describe of men and women is true and very sad.
I must ask, how do you manage to exist when so much is irrational? How do you tolerate a world in which the truly good, the rational, the earned, the purposeful has been taught to be bad and vice versa?

Oleksandr said...

Hey, Benjamin.

You seemed to be too concerned about negative side of my post. It's true that most people aren't well self-built. However, you don't need to interact with all of them.

And I tolerate such word by seeing that there are many people who aren't like that. For example, see this gallery of paintings: www.cordair.com and also visit forums where people are decently rational: http://forums.4aynrandfans.com/index.php?

Enjoy.

And just read Atlas Shrugged if you haven't done so yet.