(Spoiler (not really tho) alert, here's an excerpt of the book),
"I have also a flower."I don't really know why, but I liked the word 'ephemeral' very much. Every single thing in this world only have meaning because nothing lasts forever. If one lives forever and cannot die, will life mean anything? If one could stay forever with his or her loved one, will it mean anything? Only by the fear of 'the end'; death, separation, does one truly appreciate something.
"We do not record flowers," said the geographer.
"Why is that? The flower is the most beautiful thing on my planet!"
"We do not record them," said the geographer, "because they are ephemeral."
"What does that mean--'ephemeral'?"
"Geographies," said the geographer, "are the books which, of all books, are most concerned with matters of consequence. They never become old-fashioned. It is very rarely that a mountain changes its position. It is very rarely that an ocean empties itself of its waters. We write of eternal things."
"But extinct volcanoes may come to life again," the little prince interrupted. "What does that mean-- 'ephemeral'?"
"Whether volcanoes are extinct or alive, it comes to the same thing for us," said the geographer. "The thing that matters to us is the mountain. It does not change."
"But what does that mean--'ephemeral'?" repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question, once he had asked it.
"It means, 'which is in danger of speedy disappearance.'"
"Is my flower in danger of speedy disappearance?"
"Certainly it is."
That was some lame ass introductory paragraph(s). The point of this post is, I lost my phone, yet again. Life is fragile, all things come and go. This time though, it was actually taken from me while travelling via public transportation during a trip with a friend, last Friday during office hours. Still and all, losing it has led me to discovering these few things to be thankful of:
- Google plus, for always backing up my photos voluntarily tho the notifications are sometimes annoying
- Line, for being able to be accessed through desktop application
- The feeling of freedom acquired from not having to think about whether or not will my phone be stolen
- Thus allowing me to think of other stuffs instead, such as
- How lucky I was that I had enough money and courage and knowledge to choose whether or not will I travel by public transportation whenever I feel like it
- All the times I've traveled with public transportation through worse circumstances (mostly alone at night) and nothing have ever happened
- How poetic travelling with public transportation truly is (especially at night), because you get to experience
- Cold, post-rain weather
- Traffic jam lights, street lights
- The way some of those lights reflect on some river that is really dirty in midday (but of course it doesn't really matter at night)
- Teensy tiny dots that are probably stars
- Watching other people's quirks and behavior (at night they're mostly tired and so less aware of other people's doings and you'll seem less rude for staring/watching)
- Empty deserted train stations, bus stations, people rushing home to their loved ones
- Walking through tunnels with lots of yellow lights; reminds me a lot of that scene from the perks of being a wallflower
- Discovering new places and getting lost
- Well, basically, walking at night
Anyhow, I'll end this post by quoting another favorite scene, quote to be exact, from the (such beautiful) movie, American Beauty (1999):
I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me, but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday.