Mezzanine Musings

"Observe, in short, how transient and trivial is all mortal life: yesterday a drop of semen, tomorrow a handful of spice and ashes."

It's a simple enough phrase. I mean, to me it doesn't really strike a chord other than, "Huh. That's an interesting way to put it." But to Howie, it drives him crazy. He starts screaming, "Wrong, wrong, wrong!" and I can just see him throwing the book down into the ground. In his head, that is.

I think I know why this quotation makes Howie so upset. It's because to Howie, nothing is trivial. I mean, the guy goes on for pages about the wonders of shoelaces and straws and earplugs and all sorts of things that people kind of take for granted. Everything is something amazing to Howie. He can find childlike joy in the most inane and mundane things, and seems to hold everything up to a higher standard, like it's on a pedestal. Perforation, anyone?

I don't think he wants to acknowledge the fact that his life, and all aspects of it, really are trivial. It's like, he's trying to raise awareness about all the little things in life, but most people don't really want to hear it. And even if they do stop and listen, it impacts them for a moment but it doesn't really change their views. I kinda fit into this middle area. Howie's insight into the little, often overlooked things in life is really interesting, and makes me stop and think for a while. I've noticed myself observing more than usual, bust just not to the extent that Howie does, and definitely not with as much enthusiasm. I could really care less whether or not shoelaces wear out at the same time. Really, these sorts of questions don't strike the general public. Paper towels vs. hand dryers aren't such a big deal to most people as it is to Howie. I bet most of the world could go on living their life without knowing who exactly invented perforation, but not Howie. These are the things that make his life important, make it have meaning, and if he can't find joy in all the every day things in life, then his life has no joy at all. I think that's why the Aurelius quotation upsets him so much: it makes his life seem to have no meaning.