Of Revelation

I was walking down the block to the local grocery shop the other night. Darkness falls quickly in the winter and despite the fact that the evening news hadn't aired yet - as well as the fact that I was going to the grocery shop to get dinner - the moon sat clearly, it's white face shrouded by the heavy clouds of urban centre.

I looked deeply into it and mused to myself, smiling, "Looks just like a scene out of your average film or book."

Or vice versa, as I came to think while paying for the food. 

Obviously, these things happen. The moon does shine with an eerie white glow, any November evening. The rain does fall heavily as I stand, shivering, watching an exclusive sports car turn slowly into the alley. I do see my reflection in the fleeing glass of the metro, seeing nothing but a tired youngster with a disorganized haircut.

I find that I have believed, for a long time, that "that just doesn't happen in the real world". I thought films and books were escaping reality, not depicting it. Yet what would they be if they didn't depict reality itself?

And it gives me a brand new perspective on books, somehow. Of course, so far I've written nothing with the intent to distract and escape the tribulations of everyday life. Rest assured, however, that the next time I do write something longer, I'll write it with my memories, my experiences and the things I've seen.

It makes me wonder. They always tell me that writers should write what they know. Yet did Poe indeed speak of a dream in his study chamber as the raven cawed it's ominous message?

Somehow, it feels to me like perhaps it's worthwhile to pay a lot more attention to what's actually going on in real life. It struck me equally as well as I watched this film, where every character appeared so true, so lifelike. As I realized, the only reason the film was so striking was because the characters were so incredibly thought out, so immensely real. The extent to which I could recognize some of my friends in part of the characters was little other than frightening.

It was kind of an Eureka moment, only not so much a discovery as it was a revelation. Like much of the things that I've written of previously, it isn't really something that's completely new, or a concept that wasn't there before. It's like a sheet of paper, with words scribbled all over it. And as I walked to the grocery store, just this one was underlined.