The Unbearable Lightness of Being








“But is heaviness truly deplorable and lightness splendid? The heaviest of burdens crushes us, we sink beneath it, it pins us to the ground. But in the love poetry of every age, the woman longs to be weighed down by the man’s body. The heaviest of burdens is therefore simultaneously the image of life’s most intense fulfillment. The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become. Conversely, the absolute absence of a burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into heights, take leave of the earth and his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements as free as they are insignificant. What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?”
- Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Milan Kundera is one of my 'all-time' favorite authors. At the risk of sounding like a pretentious sycophant claiming to be enlightened by the power of literature, I can honestly say that reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being altered my very essence. Please do not mistake my intellectual epiphany for some frivolous Eat, Pray, Love-type journey of so-called self-discovery, which is actually little more than a thinly veiled romance novel masquerading as a proclamation of empowerment. No. Reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being was not that kind of experience. The war-torn political wasteland of the 1968 Prague Spring seemed to serve as a metaphor for my eternal neurosis. Yet, what has haunted me most since opening the cover and absorbing the words for the first time, is the unshakable realization that I am, and probably will always be, a heavy person. Despite my constant efforts to let lightness into my life, I am continually weighed down by my perpetual anxiety. I am beginning to accept that I will always be more like Tereza than Sabina - endlessly heavy, freed only fleetingly by a chance encounter with a bowler hat and the unconditional love of a dog named Karenin. 

Love & light, 
M  xx 

26 comments:

  1. That quote is so beautiful. I've never read the book, but I will now, it sounds like I need to. I think I'm a weighed down person too - full of anxiety, worries, doubt, pain, insecurity, fear. Whenever people meet me they always call me a 'free spirit' or some such phrase. But that is literally the last thing I feel like, inside.

    Thanks for your lovely comment by the way. I was kind of worried about scaring people with that post, but everything has been ok so far :) I really appreciate your kind words.

    Holly xoxo

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  2. Hello lovely, thank you so much for commenting on my blog, your blog is beautiful and this is a really thoughtful and well written post. I love the quote you've pulled out especially. Definitely going to follow and can't wait to read more from you :)

    http://www.ragsoflove.com/ xx

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  3. Great blog
    http://tifi11@blogspot.com

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  4. You can only make yourself feel lighter and put aside the heaviness.
    Nothing or no one can do it - it must come from within and can be achieved.

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  5. UGH I have been wanting to read that book for a while and now I think I simply must go out and get it. Even though i am reading ten other books. Whatever.
    Your blog is rad and so are you, I followed you =]

    scarlettandgiselle.blogspot.com

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  6. what must it feel like to be light as air? i think i must hover somewhere deep to midline - heavier than most, but lighter than some. the low end of a bell curve, perhaps.

    xx
    LuLu
    Breakfast After 10

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  7. Any book that garners that kind of reaction deserves a looky...must check it out! And right on time...just finished the last book :)

    xoxo
    www.PardonMyFashion.com

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  8. Nice post!!
    kisses!

    www.sunnypatri.com

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  9. HEY, WE SHOULD FOLLOW EACH OTHER ASAP. FOLLOW ME AND THEN LEAVE ME A COMMENT SO I CAN FOLLOW YOU BACK, LOVE. :)
    xx,
    Colette

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  10. This is so beautiful to read and so peaceful feeling. Love your blog. Can't wait to see more your posts. xox
    http://www.kclueless.com/

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  11. lovely post love.
    would you like to follow each other via gfc?

    xo
    arleene

    arleenesfashioncloset.blogspot.com

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  12. thank you dear Melissa for stopping by my blog and for your nice comment too :))). I like your header so much!

    Xenia
    http://lifeandfashionexplorer.blogspot.de/

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  13. I like your thoughts on Eat, Pray, Love.:D And I couldn't agree more.

    I'd definitely choose lightness. But why the fuck does weight always catch up with us?? Sometimes I wonder if we really are creatures of light or just masochists...

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  14. Nice post!
    Really like your blog!Maybe we could follow each other! :)

    Only a storm in a coffee cup

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  15. these are some cute details!

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  16. nice photos, your blog is just lovely by the ways, keep up the good work :)

    Andrea,
    http://www.thedandrea.com/
    x

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  17. Great photos dear!

    Wanna follow each other?
    Let me know on my blog.

    teenfashioncorner.blogspot.com

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  18. the snaps are just too pretty :) Following you :)

    www.beautyforntline.com

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  19. I read this somewhere, what is the actual matter, doesnt matter and what's not matters.
    Took me a while figuring out its actual sense.

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  20. These pictures are so beautiful, 1984 is on my summer reading list
    <3

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  21. I've never read this book, but it sounds like something I would really like! I may have to check it out =)

    Corinne x
    www.skinnedcartree.com

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  22. Amazing blog!
    Would you like to follow each other? Let me know!
    http://walls-cant-stop-you.blogspot.com/

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  23. I love you. No, I seriously love you. Unbearable Lightness of Being is my all-time favorite novel, and subsequently, one of my favorite films of all time (a true rarity that the film adaptation was just as beautiful as the book). I read it when I was 15, and it true, altered the way I viewed life. Although I've become jaded in recent years, I've been meaning to pick it up and read it again. Your review is spot on, and I love that you mention that this epiphany isn't on the same part as EPL, which I agree, is just fluff and a farce of a 'novel'... I think your review is one of the best I've read, so much so, I'm picking this up today to give it another go.

    And I too am heavy :)

    WWW.ROXTHEFOX.COM

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  24. Great post, excelent photos! I want to read Kundera so baaaad! <3
    xoxo

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  25. Wow your blog is absolutely beautiful! I can't stop flicking through it!

    shaunyland.blogspot.com

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