The meaning of life

Casa Disney is always aware of what is politically correct, and has offered some moral surprises, perhaps for economic reasons. The first is the list of separate films, to which he added an initial note warning that the film is racist: it reveals stereotypes that are no longer upheld by Disney. of between it Dumbo: How can we forget Raven Jim and his friends singing and talking like African American stereotypes, when it was the “Jim Crow” laws (Jim Cuervo) that allowed apartheid in the United States until 1965? Disney seems to be finally realizing and trying to clean up its past, as racist as its founder.

The second surprise was his latest movie, Soul. It is a movie about the genre, one of the many contributions of African cultures to that country. But this movie isn’t just about the musical genre; Appeals to the original meaning of Soul As a “soul”, that is: that part of the individual who, according to many beliefs, lives after death.

Of the many philosophical propositions that appear in the film, the strongest does not indicate beliefs in existence after deathBut what we can call “the meaning of life.” This topic, which has been taken up by both philosophers and scientists, is ultimately an issue that we all face one day. There are those who catch his sight. Others turn her up and forget her.

One of the responses Soul It’s simple, in a good way: we’re here to enjoy the wind blowing in the leaves. To inhale the aroma of good coffee; Breathe deeply and live the present moment that life is made of. It is present in the sense of attendance and also as a ‘gift’.

The valuing of life in this way is achieved through the senses. It is the “sensory world” that Plato despised for the “reasonable world” that allows us to be fully in the present moment. Rational thought and intelligence actually rules that original moment provided by the senses. We can have breakfast complaining about the epidemic or taste the burning edge of the tortilla, when you walk, you walk; When you eat you eat. When it is discussed, it is discussed.

The present is the only thing that exists. But we don’t know how to live it, because it requires that we understand it from the body and live the inference almost full time. Full attention to what the body expresses connects us to the present moment: smells, colors, sounds, textures and flavors open the world in a certain way when we are not judging it rationally, when we flow with sensation.

Soul He argues that the meaning of life is not achieving something, but rather learning to live happily. Whoever thinks that this can only be achieved with financial resources is wrong: a large proportion of our lives is a psychological state; Everything that happens happens on the stage of our psyche. The same rainy afternoon can cause a feeling of shelter or helplessness; The events themselves can be the cause of the greatest resentment or laughter; The same words can be interpreted as a sign of love or a clear sign of a lack of love.

I do not intend to deny reality or its material determinants: there is an initial feeling that makes us see that basic needs should be covered, and living with a decent man is not the same as living with a batterer. But whatever we live we can go through with a generous or resentful mood; We can do this with life acceptance or rejection. This is why happiness does not come from outside, nor does it come from personal achievements. Happiness lies in the way we deal with everything around us.

As I write this, Don Gabriel, an elderly gardener with serious health problems, approaches, smiling to show me the stalk he brought to clean a tree and remembers: When I was a kid we would grab a reed and make a little hole here and two more holes here. We put a pressure rod in it and when we take it out the “bullet” explodes. This is how we used to lower mango or sapodilla and sometimes kill cockroaches. My mom used to punish us for killing the cockroaches. But that’s how we enjoyed it. Using thick reeds we made flutes and they looked good.

After seeing my interest in making his toys, he continues: We put two wires in matchboxes and put their little wooden rings on them. And so we enjoyed it. My grandmother weaved the thread with cotton and ash, and my father made the rope for the tops that he made for us with wood and the little nail he put in. We would climb up hunters and make a flower like a cone and there we squeeze honey from other flowers. We ate their honey and so we enjoyed …

Don Gabriel’s life is a collection of apparent anecdotes that allow us to see a way of life. He does not assume his past under the weight of poverty, but rather a life in which nature provides what is necessary: ​​he relates his memories with a broad smile of contentment and concludes by saying: “And so we enjoyed it.” Deep down I imagine he knows it: the meaning of life is not achieving something, but giving up any pretense of “getting more” or “being more” and walking happily.

It’s not about getting to a point, it’s about enjoying the path in an emotional way towards the life that surrounds us. Stop pretending to “have” or “to be”, to learn how to “be”: sometimes we can achieve it, sometimes not.

To a large extent, life is a state of mind.