Life force, or how a child can move mountains
One of the things I’m exploring in my novel is life force–that hard-to-define force in all of us that is sort of tied to sexuality, but not entirely. My narrator, a 14-year-old boy, has a dream about a mermaid, in which this captivatingly beautiful, sexually-charged mermaid beckons him toward something terrible and beautiful. He can’t make out what it is, but he knows there is danger there, as well as something more wonderful than he’s ever known.
I think life force is a lot like this mermaid. Not exactly, of course, but in this sense of being charged, and full with potential. People whose life forces are large and strong have been responsible for some of the most beautiful and heinous events in history, some of the most breathtaking artwork and tragic losses, the most sinister plots and unworldly acts of sacrifice and kindness. I think Obama’s life force is strong right now. I think those of the Dixie Chicks are too. Any of us could probably name actors and politicians and musicians and convicts who have followed an inner mermaid’s lead toward their darkness or their light, and indeed found something more terrifying or more beautiful than they could have ever dreamed. Than we could have ever dreamed.
There is a child at one of the parks I frequent who I’ve seen three times now. And every single time I see her, I am struck, almost literally, by the strength of her presence. She’s a sweet girl, short for her age. Maybe four years old. But I swear, her life force extends at least ten feet in every direction. You get the sense that whether she’ll be a typical leader someday or not, she will move mountains. She will stand with her feet as pillars in the ground and no one will break her. She probably won’t have to bully anyone, either, because all you have to do is look into her eyes, or watch her move, and you’ll want to be near her. You’ll want to listen to her, and you’ll find her interests more sparkly and alluring than the next person’s whose interests are virtually the same as hers. I wish you could see this child.
So what do you make of this?–of life force? Do you have other words for it? What factors make some people’s so strong? Are we born with it? I want to understand this better.
February 12th, 2007 at 6:59 am
Interesting question. I have a very good friend who has always had this strong life force. People were always drawn to her. We were roommates for awhile, and it was hard being around her all the time, because we’d go out together, and people would congregate around her while I was left alone.
But I stopped being envious of her a long time ago, because it proved to be too much for her. She lived a fairly tortured life for many years and let too many of the people who gathered around her influence her and draw her in. Now, many years later, she’s still recovering.
February 12th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
That’s a really interesting angle, Heather, about the toll that a strong life force can take on a person. I think I’ve always looked at strength of life force as a positive thing, even though what one *does* with that force can be positive or negative. Maybe I need to think in a more nuanced way about this.
I’m still trying to understand definitions here, though, because I would consider, at least what I know of your on-line self, to be powerful. I think your life force is strong. So maybe there are different kinds of forces to be talked about here, one being the kind that gets people flocking to you, and another being the reality of a strong self that engages the world with an internalized sense of legitimacy.
February 13th, 2007 at 9:35 am
I think you’re right, Kristin. There are different kinds of life forces. And perhaps not everyone with a strong life force has the internal strength to handle it. I think my friend, for example, could have been an incredible force for good, but she was too easily swayed.
That’s interesting that you define me as someone with a strong life force. It’s only recently that I’ve begun to recognize some of that in myself. As a younger, less confident person, I saw it in other people and never in myself. It wasn’t until a few key people began to point it out in me that I began to believe it. I don’t know what it means, but I will try to accept your compliment with humility and strive to do justice to my calling.
February 15th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
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February 15th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
I can only think of film characters with a strong life force, but they are characters that make me think of my own children and whether that type of force is innate or can be nurtured.
The boy in Duma is mild mannered, but he is of strong character. In one scene he takes on a drifter who is trying to steel his motorcycle, and his cleverness wins the man’s trust.
Ofelia in Pan’s Labyrinth has a strong life force. She also is mild mannered, but when challenged she shows strength and clarity and confidence.
And going waaay back, I think of Elliot in E.T., who is a small boy, yet he draws in his older brother to follow him. He takes charge. He becomes the authority in their relationship. He leads them.
February 17th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
this struck me because i have been trying to figure out this church that i still hestiate to call my own…many seem to lack that life force. they do their own things, some are interesting, most are not, no one seems interested or curious for new things. there is distance and regimen as a general feel, but i feel judgemental when i think these things. i am just observing , though. i feel flat when i am there. i stay in my SS room trying to bring out the life forces i know are trapped inside these young minds. i am still waiting, altho i get glimpses now and then.
February 18th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Jen, I’ll have to look these movies up. I’ve only seen E.T. (of those you list), and that was a loooooong time ago. But my fuzzy memory does have Elliot as a very special kid. Old for his age.
Atticus, this group sounds life-draining. That’s not to say it isn’t a good thing for you to be there, though. Is it SS that keeps you there? You are such a giving person, in so many arenas, it makes me hope that you have someplace in your weeks where you are cared for and nourished and given back life. Maybe I’m hoping this for us all…