Death is the Mother of Beauty

Wallace Stevens.

I googled this quote and about broke my poor little old computer with all the hits I got back on it. Poor thing, it's just about time for me to try and get a new one. Anyway, death as the mother of beauty. I agree. It took me awhile to try to touch on the meaning of this statement and I know I still don't have it completely grasped but, like I mentioned my last entry. Without death, we would take everything completely for granted. I know that this society does anyway, but I think we all know in the back of our minds that nothing is forever. In my graduating high school class (of 2001--my God I feel old), we lost at least one student every year starting when I was in 6th grade with a friends suicide. There were car accidents, overdoses, house fires, drownings and one of my best girlfriends dies of a stroke my freshman year of high school (on the day she was throwing me a surprise birthday party no less). All of that was terrible to live through, but it's made me appreciate life and re-evaluate what is important to me and what I really should spend my time and energy one. Without knowing death so intimately, I probably would be a different person who focusses more on silly things like fashion and gossip than my own happiness. I think that is what Wallace Stevens meant when he said that Death is the Mother of Beauty.