-Truman Capote
The Background:
This is the conversation between two colleagues in an afternoon on the office communicator. Both of them are bored and obviously not busy with any urgent work.One of them had a note set on the communicator-‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever.’ And that triggered the conversation..
The purpose of this post in this Blog might be questionable.. Well, this could be the difference between Realism and Romanticism from the vantage point of an ordinary man!!!
So here it is..unsensored..unpolished...
A [4:41 PM]:
Pls expand.. cant understand.. "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" ???
G [4:41 PM]:
Look at the white lilies in the field (If there is none, imagine them).. Look at the blue clear sky above you and the green mountains beside you.. They are the beautiful creations of God and shall remain beautiful as long as time, memory and the universe… That is-forever..
A [4:42 PM]:
ya imagined.. still not able to get .. how is it joy forever??
G [4:42 PM]:
Now ur mind will be filled with joy cos of the sheer beauty of the scene
After some days, those lilies may dry up.. nd the Sky may not be clear blue or the mountains as green..
But whenever u recollect it, u will know that joy again, it will come back to u..
A [4:43 PM]:
but the joy ends .. when I go away from the place where I looked at the lilies
G [4:44 PM]:
No..the joy reminds in ur heart
A [4:44 PM]:
So do I have to remember all the beauty that I saw?? How is it possible???
G [4:45 PM]:
Even if u forget the beauty, won’t u remember the joy?
A [4:46 PM]:
Joy as an emotion can’t be forever.. It is momentary and u feel it whenever something good happens.. So how can it remain forever?? If that was the case, men should be happy always..
G [4:49 PM]:
see, that happiness is related with that specific thing of beauty only...there will be other things in life abt which u will be sad or even happy...that need not be mixed with this...the joy created in ur mind by seeing a thing of beauty will remain in ur heart, even if other things overshadows ur heart, it will keep on livening up ur soul..thats the kind of joy u get frm unadultered, pure beauty
A [4:53 PM]:
this unadultered beauty that u r talking about can create joy.. i accept.. but how that joy will remain forever if that beauty itself is not with u anymore... the same beauty that dies after sometime will also kill the joy that it created.. So the emotion that this beauty has created will then take a new shape..Will that formless state live forever? I think not..
G [4:55 PM]:
ya, see the thing of beauty cant live for ever..only good thing that can live which is a part of it is-the joy it creates..So make it live..dont let it die...keep that joy alive in ur soul for ever...if u try, u can keep that formless state an ever living one...at least, that will be the good residue left of the thing of beauty.
A [4:57 PM]:
but bcoz the beauty has died that joy cannot be felt... as it will remind of the beauty being no more... so isn’t it good that the joy be momentry and left for that time rather than.. living with that forever
G [4:59 PM]:
its actually the choice u make..either choose that momentary joy and forget the beauty nd joy together or u keep the joy even after losing the beauty nd keep the beauty alive through ur joy
A [5:02 PM]:
this is purely a choice.. fine.. but as a human.. who is never perfect... and not a GOD.. how can he keep the beauty alive by remembering joy it created... emotions flow in both directions.. and negative one always over shadows the positive ones in human... Otherwise, he has to be a saint who lives in non materialistic world with pure heart
G [5:03 PM]:
Again, another choice u make
either to be a common man with all above mentioned characteristics or be a not so common man with beauty in soul nd life, keeping alive the joy it gives...the world will be a much better place for u to live then...nd u will rejoice in it even with all the sorrows and disspaointments in life..Believe me, those sorrows nd dissapointments are also worth having if you can live a beautiful life like that keeps alive all the joy in the world..
A [5:09 PM]:
ya you r rite ... both sorrow and happiness are required for full life.. but your deviating from the point... in practical life that we live its not possible... you cant go to a forest and lead a joyfull life with beauty around you.. so isn’t it good to be enjoying other things once earlier one is gone .. Rather than remembering always that which has died!!!
G [5:11 PM]:
ok..I giv up!I know u r determined nd bored!
so, i shud expect the worse from u..
i giv up unconditionally
A [5:13 P M]:
now i will tell you something.. you were right and i accept all the points that you said.. i was just testing your debating skills.. you give up but still i accept i was not right.. they way u said was the way to live life...
