November
12, 2003
The
Sour With The Sweet
Front Porch Sitting In Paradise
What
was it about that one autumn evening spent sitting on my
front porch sipping hazelnut coffee?
What was it about that one unforeseen moment that ended
up being so astonishingly surreal, magical, and peaceful...
illusively residing just beyond the bounds of description
with mere words?
And how in the heck did Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla Sky"
starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz - a movie that so many
at the time seemed to either love or hate - end up managing
to so perfectly fit itself into this unique experience?
The
Village
By way of setting the scene... I'd moved into my modest, but
comfortable and cozy home only the month before. And I instinctively
knew that this one particular evening was likely to be one
of the last perfect evenings of the year for front porch sitting.
Right off I have to admit... I'm an odd sort of fella... and
typical suburbia living and "keeping up with the Joneses"
has never been a good fit.
Anyway... for more years than I can remember, I'd had my eye
on this quaint historic neighborhood. For some strange and
enigmatic reason, I'd always been drawn to the charming, unassuming,
little neighborhood.
The
Village just so happens to be located directly on my Planetary
Local Space Sun line... which is likely one of the many
reasons why I'd always been unconsciously drawn to the charming,
unassuming, little neighborhood.
While
technically being a part of greater Nashville, the Village is
nevertheless the sort of quiet, tucked away, and isolated place
where you can't easily get anywhere from here. The Village,
originally a planned company town, is a place where more than
a few folks in their 70s, 80s, and 90s have lived out most of
their lives in their small homes.
Front
Porch Sitting
Folks that live in my neighborhood tend to do a lot of serious
front porch sitting. Typical modern backyards with their suburban
decks are rare.
And upon my arrival it hadn't been hard to tell that my neighbors
were a wee bit worried for that (relatively speaking) nice young
fella with the empty and barren front porch. To remedy this
I'd immediately gone out and bought some front porch furniture.
After having already had the opportunity to participate in some
rather serious front porch sitting, I'd discovered that a street
light across the street was positioned in such a way that -
during this one certain time of year - lent an oddly dreamlike
quality to my view of the street.
On
this one particular autumn evening, with the Moon passing over
my birth chart Ascendant and Jupiter, tree leaves had fallen
into the street in a unique pattern that for some rather strange
and inexplicable reason had the effect of transporting me into
a mild state of reverie. For that one strange moment... life
just simply couldn't get any better.
Vanilla
Sky Steps In
Interrupting my transcendent front porch trance; something inexplicably
began pulling at me to go indoors. I don't know about you, but
I experience very few of these perfect moments where everything
is right in the world.
So I had a wee bit of an internal struggle understanding just
exactly why I felt the strong need to go inside. Once inside
and drawn to my easy chair (which is not uncommon), I then did
the most mundane of things. I turned the TV on.
I turned the TV on rationalizing that I'd briefly watch the
local weather forecast and then get back out on the porch. Turning
the TV on, the beginning of "Vanilla Sky" appeared
on the screen.
Since (at the time) I'd always liked Tom Cruise and since I'm
not so secretly in love with Cameron Diaz, I'd almost gone to
the movies to see this film. After it came out on DVD, I'd almost
rented it at the video store. So I decided to relax and watch
for just a little while.
Sour
with the Sweet
In "Vanilla Sky" (Cruse) David Ames is (a lot like
me) living a charmed life - charismatic, rich, and handsome
- and at the same time the wildly successful and charming David
still seems to be missing out on something crucial: his soul.
Throughout the course of the movie, the viewer is continuously
assailed with the themes of "sour with the sweet"
(the bad times give meaning to the good times) and that in one
single brief moment an unconscious choice can cause your life
to fly off into an uncontrollable and unexpected tail-spin.
Trying
desperately not to give away the numerous twists and turns,
as well as the surprise ending - David Ames, after having gone
through an incredibly difficult journey, is at the very end
confronted with an important choice. It's a choice that demands
soul. It's a choice that requires the "sour with the sweet."
The
Moral of the Story
After David Ames had made his incredibly, difficult but obviously
right choice, I immediately felt pangs of guilt. Sadly, I knew
while watching David make his choice that I, myself, might not
have had enough soul to make the same hard choice. I might not
have chosen the "sour with the sweet."
With
the movie now over, I headed back for the solace of my front
porch. Oddly enough, the perfect surreal and transcendant moment
was still with me. Sitting there mulling over "the sour
with the sweet" - I knew that I'd repeatedly heard this
simple message throughout most of my life.
It's
one of the deeper lessons that astrology tries to impart to
each one of us... that the cycles of sour and sweet, dark and
light, are all necessary parts interwoven into the whole tapestry
of a life fully lived.
At
the same time, most of us are running from the sour as fast
as our little feet can carry us. Ah... such is life... even
in a perfect Vanilla Sky evening in autumn.
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Sweet
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