The Illustrated man, From My Personal Journal

I don't normally post anything that reflects upon myself as a person, usually just things that grab my attention. I felt the urge to share this little piece of me though, because I believe it's something that every one of us can relate to...

From my own personal journal:

"Sometimes when life changes too fast, it makes my soul lonely. Even if I am in the most beautiful place with the the one that I love and life is just glorious. Sometimes it just feels like something is missing. As if I left a piece of my heart in every place I have ever been and a piece of my mind and soul with every beautiful person I've met along the way.

Maybe the only reason I feel this way is because the memories are all I have to hold on to. Photos and trinkets and thoughts are all I keep with me. I can't keep places I've been in my pocket or people on my bookshelf. All I am left with is a longing... As if these things aren't real and the people were just passerby that became leading characters in my dreams.

It reminds me (the feeling) of an excerpt from Ray Bradbury's 'The Illustrated Man.' I never want to be so cynical or closed off from memories or the world, but the underlying message is a simple human truth. It is as follows:

'You see, you have no mental evidence. That's what i want, a mental evidence I can feel. I don't want physical evidence, proof you have to go out and drag in. I want evidence you can carry in your mind and always touch and smell and feel but there's no way to do that. In order to believe in a thing, you've got to carry it with you. You can't carry the Earth, or a man in your pocket. I want a way to do that, carry things with me always, so i can believe in them.  How clumsy to have to go to all the trouble of going out and bringing something terribly physical to prove something. I hate physical things because they can be left behind and become impossible to believe in.'

I sometimes wish I could bring all of these places and people and experiences together; A cosmic party that is simply my life. I believe to be content and happy in life, is to not yearn for these physical things, but to embody them. The belief that all of the experiences you've had, places you've been and people you've met and loved, are what make up YOU, should bring peace.
Instead of 'going out and bringing something terribly physical to prove something,' emanate it through yourself and how you interact with the world. Let your past be your passport to your future.
Oh, the people you will meet and the places you will go. Entwine all the moments to make up YOU, and never let it burn out.... or fade away."

Illustrated Man Book Cover By Guilherme Maueler

Excerpt from Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man

Writing by Lizzie Buell