I met him a couple of weeks ago. I
kind of introduced myself after reading about him for a long time now, and
since I'm having the first real do-nothing-no-pending-issues-whatsoever
vacation in a long time, I've been thinking about it non-stop. And who might
this mysterious character be, you might ask...
It's the Doctor.
Just like that.
So after around 6
hours of watching Doctor Who today I finally went out for a walk, a bit before
sunset, in this beautiful city surrounded by mountains and people from all over
the world. I sat there on a bench and watched, just watched people walk by for
a couple of hours. And as I was doing so, I wondered: what is it about these
stories that capture me so much?
I started thinking
about my daily life. Have I become so thirsty for something that I feel constantly parched for the next alternative
reality? Have I lost the sense of wonder for the common, the ordinary? How can
one make one's life fantastic?
And then I
thought: I have had such a fantastic life so far... I might not be the most adventurous or
passionate about everything person there is...but in the past few years I have
felt so much wonder. I've been overcome so many times about the sheer beauty
of the world, of my existence,
of possibility.
So I realized what
I like about the Doctor so much, what I like about all these stories about
different worlds. The fact that they are all created and dreamt about by some
other normal and common human being. Just like me. It is that delightful human ability to create other
realities, as well as our ability to experience them, if just for a moment, as
we watch, as we read, as if they were real, that makes me keep wanting more. Whether
I’m reading about it, or whether there’s someone narrating or acting them out,
all these stories are somehow, for a moment, as real as I am.
It's art. It's
wonder. It's something buried so deep within ourselves that comes out through
that moment of almost out of body experience. It's our ability to create and re-create…
it’s beautiful.
It made me feel
like creating something. It makes me feel like re-creating myself (regenerate
of the sorts??).
That was the
feeling I had as I was watching all those people walking by. How we, I, can
create things that are utterly fantastic. Not just to dream them, but bring
them to life.
I felt in love
with the world.
I don't thing
fantasizing is a waste of time... I just want to be introduced to more and more
worlds in which to feel like a constant traveler. Constantly amazed. And learn
from them that it is possible to experience that same feeling on some ordinary
day, sitting on an ordinary bench, just
watching people walk by.
Allons-y!
Happy 50th
birthday Doctor.