Bukowski

"Some lose all mind and become soul, insane.

Some lose all soul and become mind, intellectual.

Some lose both and become accepted."

- Charles Bukowski -

As much as you may like or dislike this quote, it is bound to be interesting, isn't it? The first time I came across these few words from Charles Bukowski (poet and writer) was when I was reading Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, and they striked me a little bit. I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but as I've grown older (now I'm speaking as if I was some 107-year-old woman) I think it has acquired a different meaning for me. The more I think about it, the more realistic these words become to me, or at least that's what I feel when I look around. Now I'll try to explain my view a little bit.

Some lose all mind and become soul, insane.

Let's start from here, shall we? This part makes me think of those who allow themselves to drift away, to dive into a sea of emotions without a worry about what the world may think. There's no rational space for this kind of person, there's only the thrill of their feelings. They will express themselves openly, and it won't matter if they're the happiest they've ever been or they're at their worst. But feeling in such a strong way, with such passion, can be both rewarding and damaging, and that's why, in the end, these souls have no control over their emotions, hanging by a thread. I think this is why Bukowski says that they're insane, because society sees them as someone who can't restrain themselves, who can't control what they do because they're driven by emotions.

Too dramatic?

Some lose all soul and become mind, intellectual.

On the other hand, there are those who shut their hearts out, who forget about emotions and throw themselves into a will of knowing. They are content when they can expand their minds. They tend to rationalize everything, because it's safe and true, because it's how things should be. There's no point in worrying about feelings or emotions, because they're only as important as you want them to be. This, too, can be both rewarding and damaging. It's obvious why Bukowski says that they're intellectual, because they're centered in what will the most efficient ways be, what will the most rational answers be. And for this, society sees them as someone insensitive, someone that is hard to communicate with.

Not bothered by a storm of feelings

Some lose both and become accepted.

Now this is the point where I wanted to get to. It doesn't matter what you are: a soul, an intellectual or something else. Society will always find a way to label you even in your most personal space. Too expressive? Bad thing. Too rational? Bad thing. But if you learn to restrain both your feelings and your thoughts in order to please those around you, then you're good to go. It's like we are kept on a tight leash. But the truth is that in the end it doesn't matter at all. It matters as much as we want it to.

To sum up, I think that society is always judging and we are too prone to care about it. If we lose both our soul and our mind, what else is left of us? We become something else that society is fine with but we should not. And what is that? A bad thing.

When you stop worrying so much