In the last Harry Potter, darling wizard Harry tackles the seemingly impossible mission of locating different Horcruxes and attempting to destroy them in his road of finishing Lord Voldemort once and for all. See, Voldemort realized that in order to increase his chances of survival, he should divide his soul and install pars of it in different objects, or a snake – the Horcruxes. This is done with mal-intent, of course, I mean he is Lord Voldemort, the one-who-should-not-be-named, the one who believes in purity of the wizard race, the true leader of the dark side (oh wait, wrong movie). He partitions his soul by killing people, his soul divided into smaller parts and in consequence his whole being suffers as it cannot be complete.
In my life I have formed a few very close friendships. And I’d like to think that I have shared part of my soul with them. Of course I can say some of those friendships have been with objects, like my dear old bike Totto and my new bike E (I have an aversion of snakes so we’ll stop there and cheer Saint Patrick – who, naturally, was born in Wales!!!), but the strong deep connections, those also give back and enrich my soul via this exchange, have been with humans, and of course, some pets. I have also divided my soul. And I can say that it has hurt my wholeness, especially with these great distances that now separate me from many of my loved ones (cheesy moment, I suggest Caerphilly cheddar, a great Welsh cheese).
How different is this partition of the soul than Voldemort’s? It is also a mechanism for survival. The process is more dynamic than dividing the soul with an object, and is based on an expected exchange. Yet that exchange is rarely equivalent on both sides, and this sometimes does lead to pain and hurt. Maybe Voldemort just wanted love and was denied this, and hence shared his intimacies with a snake and a small diary?
Maybe we have misunderstood Lord Voldemort all this time and Harry is the bastard…
This post was first sad and then strangely beautiful for me. First off, I would suggest trying meditation, which I hear does a fine job of centering the soul. Second, I empathize with you that there is a divide when you are on the move or distanced physically. There is just no way to keep tabs as easily from afar. I feel it in my life, and can only imagine how spread out your humans are. The optimistic news is that a lot of these friends are specifically designed to give back some of their soul. That is why they are called friends. And if they lack, or fall behind in friendship payments, then I suggest doing something wacky like sticking a label with their name in a chunk of lower quality cheddar cheese and putting it on the side of the road. bygones be…suck it cheese!
ReplyDeleteThird, I agree with you on humans and pets giving back soul, but don't underestimate inanimate objects. I've given a part of my soul to my bikes too, and they have more than repaid with the joy they give me while I'm out pedaling into the sun. They've also taken out a chunk of my elbow and shin, so maybe that is a weak example. Fourth, and lastly for different scope, Conan O'Brien said that Voldemort was secretly searching for his nose and that the latest release should have been titled "Harry Potter: Someone's Missing A Nose"
http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Video-Clip-Conan-Harry-Potter-Spoof-28382.html