Thursday, January 24, 2008

Perseverance of the Butterfly

I can't stop thinking about Jean-Dominique Bauby, the author and subject of the movie "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." He was editor-in-chief of Elle magazine in Paris when he had a massive stroke and went into a coma. When he regained consciousness he couldn't speak, and could only move his left eyelid. The movie is about him writing his book by blinking his left eye to communicate the letters. It's an incredible story.

I wonder how much we'd say if we had to communicate like that. How short would our sentences be? What would go unsaid? It's hard enough to have feelings and thoughts and not be able to verbalize them with all the words available.

I was amazed at how much description he put in his sentences; the feelings that he described and the analogies used. Of course, he was a writer to begin with, being editor of Elle. When he died 10 days after the book was published, it seemed that writing the book had been his reason for living.

Don't we all wonder, just a little, not wanting to tempt the fates, but still we wonder, how we would persevere in such a situation. Stories like this and having friends with cancer make me embarrassed for not making the most of every single day.

1 comment:

Sarah in Disturbia said...

I haven't read your blog in such a long time and you always read mine. What a good mom : ) I love the story and love to think about him but I don't wonder how I would handle the situation if it happened to me. I more wonder how I would handle it if it happened to someone close to me. It does make one feel guilty about not living every moment. xo