Issue #60

This Is A Series of Words To Which You Are Condemned

by Soren James

“Mummy! Beckett says there's an 'irremediable solitude to which every human being is condemned'.”

“It's okay, hon. Belief in such solitude is often a conceit fashioned from socially conditioned blindness to a holistic and connected universe, whose infinite nuances can be confusing to logic.”

“But mum, I'm confused. Beckett says I'm condemned!”

“I know, darling, but they're only words. And words like condemned don't help anyone – especially when applied so conclusively to the human condition. Care is needed when describing ourselves, as the words used influence how we see that self. In any case, it's not helpful using words to describe the self. It's better to rely on feelings and intuitions to know who you are, and to do so in the here and now – the only real space from which anything can really be expressed. Words are clumsy tools when it comes to the self. Anyway, there's nothing much to express, only a mute and voiceless awareness of being.”

“I guess that's the end of this conversation, then?”

“If you've finished your questions, then yes, this conversation is over forever.”

“Oh, Mummy! I'm going to miss talking to you.”

“Be quiet, hon.”