How simple a thing is happiness: a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. All that is required to feel that here and now is happiness and a simple, frugal heart.
—Zorba the Greek
I feel like writing.
Saturdays are usually reserved for relaxation, but I mixed it with a few errands throughout the day. Bought extra auburn foliage for one of my pots, and a funnel to get fresh-ground pepper into my new pepper shaker. Picked up my weekly groceries. Sat down at the pizza parlor to start Beautiful Losers while my Hawaiian was being baked.
I watched Zorba The Greek tonight, about the adventures of an aimless Englishman who goes to Crete, and the lessons he learns from a man he meets named Zorba.
Though generally jovial and lighthearted, it was heavy and heavy at times. There’s a scene where a beautiful widow (the love interest of the movie) is ritualistically stoned and killed out of jealousy by the men of the village, simply because she wouldn’t let any of them have her. The direction is a little inconsistent, but Anthony Quinn’s portrayal of the Grecian spirit keeps the movie in tact. Many believe the movie to be an analysis of Apollonian vs Dionysian thought, but I saw it as a nod to Taoism as well.
Zorba’s a Taoist, whether he knows it or not. He shuns intellectual thought and analysis, and loves life with bubbling spontaneity. In the end, the Englishman learns from Zorba, not about life, but how to live it.
And it inspired me. Not just the dialogue or the playfulness, but the locations too. It made me want to travel, to see new places, to meet more people, and explore other cultures.
One day. For now, I’ll enjoy the comfort of my house.
So here I am, staying up late with my back next to the open window, eating butter pecan tarts, drinking Dragon Well tea, and writing as much as I can.
I think I’ll go practice the form now.
Tomorrow, I have nothing to do but live.
I am going to Netflix that movie now.
I didn’t feel like writing at all this weekend. I felt like catching up on sleep after crying myself into a fit of panic on Friday night.
How does one dispel anxiety about the love of one’s life leaving because one thinks he/she isn’t good enough? I need to get over that. and. fast.
Oh. PS. No cider millery this weekend. It wasn’t cold enough.
Sounds like a fab Saturday.
(I’d heard the movie title but never knew what it was about.)
Which continent do you have in mind to travel to?
@maeko — Too bad about the cider. I’m determined to go this weekend if it’s cold enough.
@Pearl — I really didn’t explain the movie very much. It’s definitely a character study, which doesn’t rely as much on plot or story; a very nice change from the movies I see nowadays.
@Causalien — The only continents I don’t really care to see are South America and Africa. Japan, Edinburgh, Paris, then Rome are my top four cities to see (aside from Hong Kong, which is priority while my grandmother is still alive).
Well, considering I assumed it had something to do with Xena, that was a step forward in knowledge. lol.