tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3118083.post113869487858753065..comments2023-09-23T03:27:35.377-07:00Comments on my life...in, around and about the theatre | blogging at you since 2001!: BEING ALIVEUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3118083.post-1141184596484698512006-02-28T19:43:00.000-08:002006-02-28T19:43:00.000-08:00I just came from the bedside of a dying friend and...I just came from the bedside of a dying friend and was googling 'Being Alive + lyrics' when I came across your post. I wanted to include the lyrics in an email to a friend about what it was I was looking for out of life, out of a relationship. Indeed, Sondheim and the character of Robert present a life of sacrifice and struggle, but also one of great rewards including the awareness of life. Certainly, when pairing with someone there are those risks and, I for one, am frightened of taking them, but perhaps even more frightened of never having the chance. <BR/><BR/>As Mitch says, I don't know why we as humans gravitate to fear and doubt over love and hope. For me, it is the years of experience of love and heartbreak that has made me more cautious. The cuts and bruises take longer to heal now. But, I'd love the opportunity , with the right person, to fall again. I welcome someone to sit in my chair and ruin my sleep.<BR/><BR/>Bonnie Marshall<BR/>Minneapolis, Minnesota<BR/>cheetah@mn.rr.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3118083.post-1138899581493049342006-02-02T08:59:00.000-08:002006-02-02T08:59:00.000-08:00To me, the lyrics of this song present a challenge...To me, the lyrics of this song present a challenge: Sondheim is asking each of us, do YOU want to be alive? It's a question each of us must answer.<BR/><BR/>It seems that Robert eventually decides that being forever single is not the ideal, since "alone is alone, not alive." I think he recognizes that being alone is the easier choice, but it doesn't challenge a person to strive for more and do better. If we retreat into our own little world and never share ourselves with others, we can never explore all the dimensions of "being alive." We are depriving ourselves.<BR/><BR/>But Robert is "as frightened as you," and he is as frightened as me and everyone I know. Again, being alone is the easier choice because it doesn't put oneself at risk. I struggle with the fact that I can be hurt if I open my heart to another person, as I've been hurt many times before. But Robert reminds me I am not alone in these thoughts.<BR/><BR/>You mention that you've had many conversations with people about what they want and fear from life. I wonder if you've observed that people are a lot clearer on what they fear from life than what they want from life. Fear seems to guide life and inhibit people from taking the biggest risk of all: deciding what it is you want from life, and going out and getting it.<BR/><BR/>Why is it that the human condition makes it easier to be afraid rather than hopeful, to be reactive rather than proactive, and to be doubtful rather than confident? It seems counter-intuitive that we fight the very idea of "being alive" out of a sense of self-preservation. If we don't challenge ourselves to truly be alive, what are we protecting ourselves from?<BR/><BR/>I think these lyrics are really thought-provoking. Am I up for the challenge of "being alive," truly opening my heart and mind without fear? Am I ready to make what I want from life more important than what I fear from life? Do I agree with Robert that "alone is alone, not alive," and that the only way for me to feel alive is to open my heart to another person? -- I'm hopeful I can eventually answer these questions, but I realize I have a lot more work to do.Mitch Glaserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02474548144759342141noreply@blogger.com