12-01-2016, 13:14
There are very few people in the world whose passing sparks such an outpouring of love, admiration and grief. I got to thinking about why that is; what is it about Bowie that touches us so deeply? What did he embody?
Is it because he was a beautiful human being? Is it in the way he always carried himself? Watch the way he moved â assured grace â thereâs an element of bravery in that. Listen to the way he spoke â eloquent and decisive with a rapier sharp wit. Listen to what he wrote â the complexity, the ingenuity. See what he read â his choice of material. He was an artist, both visual and aural and he stood alone.
He also had his vulnerabilities and failings, just as we all do, and itâs clear now that his final work deals with his own mortality. He had to face (and it would appear that he did that with considerable aplomb), head-on, the knowledge that where he was going, we all go on our own. Those squared up shoulders, head held high â all that elegance and all that artistry has gone off on a solo journey and I think weâd like to have gone along with him (in a manner of speaking!) â given him some comfort on the way, in return for everything of himself that he gave to us, because we KNOW him!! Paradoxically, our dollars and pounds - the means by which we could get to know him - that exchange, which is absolutely fair, and his net worth, mean nothing now, and we are unbearably helpless.
Maybe thatâs what makes it so hard and so sad â we are forced to deal with the reality of life being terminal - the great equalizer. And none of us wants to leave alone. Well â thatâs my feeling about all of this! No stomach for much else at the moment â¦
After due consideration, and much listening, my alltime fav â no question â¦.
[video=youtube;oAo7YeRkJYo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAo7YeRkJYo[/video]
Is it because he was a beautiful human being? Is it in the way he always carried himself? Watch the way he moved â assured grace â thereâs an element of bravery in that. Listen to the way he spoke â eloquent and decisive with a rapier sharp wit. Listen to what he wrote â the complexity, the ingenuity. See what he read â his choice of material. He was an artist, both visual and aural and he stood alone.
He also had his vulnerabilities and failings, just as we all do, and itâs clear now that his final work deals with his own mortality. He had to face (and it would appear that he did that with considerable aplomb), head-on, the knowledge that where he was going, we all go on our own. Those squared up shoulders, head held high â all that elegance and all that artistry has gone off on a solo journey and I think weâd like to have gone along with him (in a manner of speaking!) â given him some comfort on the way, in return for everything of himself that he gave to us, because we KNOW him!! Paradoxically, our dollars and pounds - the means by which we could get to know him - that exchange, which is absolutely fair, and his net worth, mean nothing now, and we are unbearably helpless.
Maybe thatâs what makes it so hard and so sad â we are forced to deal with the reality of life being terminal - the great equalizer. And none of us wants to leave alone. Well â thatâs my feeling about all of this! No stomach for much else at the moment â¦
After due consideration, and much listening, my alltime fav â no question â¦.
[video=youtube;oAo7YeRkJYo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAo7YeRkJYo[/video]
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson