INSPIRED YET AGAIN...
yeap, this blog isnt dead. Far from it, i jus needed some good stuff to get my ranting juices goin. And w/ that... here we go...
The source of inspiration came w/ yet again... an anime. This is why i love the stuff, its really addicting when u see the good stuff. As i mentioned awhile b4, the anime is entitled Saikano, the tale of the love between Shuji and Chise. It is a full-bodied drama, filled w/ ur love triangles and romantic tensions and such... set against a raging world war that slowly permeates into their quiet little town. The sole barrier that stands between them and their total destruction at the hands of the "enemy" is Chise, the "ultimate weapon". This sort of protection becomes quite contradictory, cause with every battle shes involved in, her immense power wipes out city after city. All this is tough to bear, especially for a little, clumsy 17 yr old senior in hs. Her life as a weapon slowly drains away much of the humanity left within her, to the pt where in order to survive, she has to fight... the fate of any weapon. The only thing that keeps her human, even when she tries to deny it, is her love for Shuji. Shuji is faced with his own dilemmas, trying to reconcile his love for Chise, and the fear he harbors within when hes around her. The idea of killing is unthinkable to Shuji, yet he sees no alternative in which to protect his little girlfriend. And intertwined in this love between a girl and boy are their friends, who slowly disappear... one by one as the war draws closer. All in all, very emotional anime... and yea, sometimes i could feel some tears welling up... im a sap, what can i say?
Walking along today, i was reminded of snipets of conversation i had w/ Jasmine the day b4. Apparently, she was thinkin about doing two senior theses (oooh man....), one bout gingko biloba, and another about chivalry. The latter was the one she started doin earlier, and the one that intrigued me the most. What i remember is that the concept of chivarly can be akin to altruism. At least to me, chivarly is an awesome concept, as well as altruism. It could very well be a defining characteristic of being human... maybe, hopefully. Chivalry, as i imagine it, is not to account for inadequacies that a girl might have... or it shouldnt be. Jus something to help out, to brighten their day a little bit. No strings attached, jus an act of good will toward some1 u might not even kno, yet u feel oblidged to help out w/. This feeling is something i admire in humans, this notion of helping each other. It could very well be passed down ages ago, cause only w/ the help of others can u succeed. It is not a matter of weakness, its jus being human.
Which leads me to again... war. Conflict within conflict. War has scarred many throughtout the duration of human existence, and seeing it now... its a puzzling matter, not one that will be resolved in this lifetime... maybe never. Ive already given my stance on the whole notion already... but i think i can sense a little hypocrisy in what i say. In my neverending attempt to make my actions and words resonate as one, ill give a little commentary. I dont like guns really, and i would never imagine owning one... yet i play cs and such. I wouldnt want to fight any1 if i could help it, yet martial art is an integral part of my life. Martial art is different tho. How could it be, u say? Whats the difference in fighting w/ a gun than say a staff or sword? The intention is the same. I dont agree w/ that. Weapons in themselves arent evil... only when wielded can they have the capacity to kill. What kills is the wielder of the weapon, irresponsible handling of the weapon. This is what i believed for a good long while now. Same w/ the sword, the spear... what have u. Even in this, martial art has a greater significance, beyond merely the domination of one over the other. Martial art can be internal as well as external... the internal might be even more integral. It is a gradual process of self-reflection, of knowing ur capacities, and to learn how to transcend them. I guess what im tryin to get at can be summed up w/ a realization made by the Qin emperor in Hero. He says this while lookin at the word "sword" made by master calligrapher and swordsman Broken Sword:
"Oh... i understand now! This word doesnt convey his technique, it shows something greater. The 1st level of swordsmanship is to be one w/ the sword, to link it w/ the mind. The 2nd level of swordmanship is to have the sword in the heart, so even w/o out it, u can strike at a 100 paces. The final level is the absence of the sword. He is at peace w/ the world."
... something like that, but pretty much the gist of what im gettin at. This is what i believe martial art to be, a gradual process of discovery, of urself and ur surroundings.
Guess i went on a tangent there, but this is the thing i wanted to get at... a little piece of writing inspired by a scene in Saikano. When Shuji's friend wants to go to the front lines in order to protect his girl, Shuji has this to say to him: "Dying in order to protect the one u love is not the issue. Can u really take the life of another? Can u kill some1 else in order to protect the one u love?" I really wanted to write something a bit creative... but ill save that for another time. It didnt really come out as i expected... sadness. Well, more to come soon... hopefully very soon.
