We have been taught that every human being is a dignified entity. Not only with that, it has been learned that every individual can become whatever they aspire. Rather than a lesson we learned, it is more of what we have believed so far. What you learn is a fact but what you believe is a hope. It is better to say that we have long believed what hope can bring to us.
Sometimes hope can distort itself. In particular, collective hope can suppress individuals in certain way. Anyone can become whatever he wants. This belief, however, can silently urge individuals to feel that they are a loser, if they fail to do so. In this regard, something that you feel pressured to become usually means a great or outstanding figure in society. It sounds that there only is talk of what greatness is, but no meaning is left with it. People have come to believe that they live a great life only when they get recognition from others. The fact is, however, if one becomes No.1, the rest is behind him.
What should we become? Should a human being pay self-contempt when he just sits around and does nothing? Would not he be allowed to sit idle when he just wants to wind down? Which brings me to a poem that goes “Where there is emptiness in my heart, the house of stars stands.” The stars up in the skies and empty space itself stay as they are, not going extra miles to become another existence. They just stand still. The next phrase of the poem resonates with my heart: “the night with the rustling sounds of oak trees in the mountain.” The rustling sound in the poem implies that the leaves have turned red and yellow, which, thus, are soon to fall from trees. It is worth emptying my heart to fully enjoy the last words spoken by the falling leaves.
The nights of autumn, as the poet puts, are to come around. Where there is empty space in the heart, the stars shine, and the leaves rustle pleasantly. When you decide to empty yourself, not aspiring to become something, you can come across the best-ever moments and meanings in your lifetime.
Won-Joo Lee takeoff@donga.com