Redtree Times

Vita et Lux– At Principle Gallery

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being.

–Carl Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections (1963)

Could it be that mere being, with all the darkness it entails, is the meaning and purpose of life? Maybe we have no purpose other than to experience being alive, to be little sparks of light that creates an arc that runs from our birth to our death, cutting through the darkness.

Maybe that arc itself is the light of meaning?

I don’t know if that is the case or if I can believe that. It’s a little too hedonistic to my way of thinking, too limited to self-indulgence and lacking concern for the welfare of others.

But it’s only 6 AM on a Monday morning. Maybe in the light of day I will see things differently.

Or maybe not. Who knows?

Since light seems to be the subject of the day, here’s a song dealing with that subject. Kind of. This is Springsteen and his Blinded By the Light performed in the mid-2000’s with the band from his Seeger Sessions album. That album performed many Pete Seeger folk songs with a hybrid folk-Big Band sound. I wasn’t particularly fond of that album at the time but over the years it has grown on me and I think this folk-Big Band sound works really well with this tune. You be the judge.