Ask-Seek-Knock
Padawan Learner
My husband and I finally watched the movie The Counselor last night. We hesitated because of the awful reviews. But since it was only $1 at the Redbox we decided to give it a try and I have to admit we actually liking it. We both thought the dialogue was fantastic. Spoiler Alert for anyone that wants to see it. Do not read further until you do.
Well... I bring it up because the scene at the end made my skin crawl, when the Counselor is talking on the phone to Jefe the drug lord (see script below). I bolded the sections that really caught my attention.
Here it is:
Counselor: I’m not sure you understand my position.
Jefe: But I do, Counselor. Actions create consequences which produce new worlds, and they’re all different. Where the bodies are buried in the desert, that is a certain world. Where the bodies are simply left to be found, that is another. And all these worlds, heretofore unknown to us, they must have always been there, must they not?
Counselor: I don’t know. Will you help me?
Jefe: I would urge you to see the truth of the situation you’re in, Counselor. That is my advice. It is not for me to tell you what you should have done or not done. The world in which you seek to undo the mistakes you made is different from the world where the mistakes were made. You are now at the crossing. And you want to choose, but there is no choosing there. There’s only accepting. The choosing was done a long time ago. Are you there, Counselor?
Counselor: Yes.
Jefe: I don’t mean to offend you, but reflective men often find themselves at a place removed from the realities of life. In any case, we should all prepare a place where we can accommodate all the tragedies that sooner or later will come to our lives. But this is an economy few people care to practice. Do you know the words of Machado?
Counselor: I know his name.
Jefe: “…caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar.” Lovely poet. Machado was a schoolteacher and he married a young, beautiful girl. And he loved her very much. And she died. And then he became a great poet. (See full poem below translated)
Counselor: I’m not going to become a great poet.
Jefe: No, perhaps not. But even if you were to do so, it would not help you. Machado would have traded every word, every poem, every verse he ever wrote for one more hour with his beloved. And that is because when it comes to grief, the normal rules of exchange do not apply, because grief transcends value. A man would give entire nations to lift grief off his heart, and yet, you cannot buy anything with grief. Because grief is worthless.
Counselor: Why are you telling me this?
Jefe: Because you continue to deny the reality of the world you’re in. Do you love your wife so much, so completely, that you would exchange places with her upon the wheel? And I don’t mean dying, because dying is easy.
Counselor: Yes! Yes, damn you!
Jefe: Well, that is good to hear, Counselor.
Counselor: What are you saying? Are you saying this is a possibility?
Jefe: No. It’s impossible.
Counselor: You said I was that man at that crossing.
Jefe: Yes. At the understanding that life is not going to take you back. You are the world you have created, and when you cease to exist, this world you have created will also cease to exist. But for those with the understanding that they’re living the last days of the world, death acquires a different meaning. The extinction of all reality is a concept no resignation can encompass. And then, all the grand designs, and all the grand plans will be finally exposed and revealed for what they are.
After that scene I remember thinking wow! some of that stuff sounds similar to what the C's have said.
Here is the poem:
Wayfarer, there is no path
Wayfarer, the only way
Is your footprints and no other.
Wayfarer, there is no way.
Make your way by going farther.
By going farther, make your way
Till looking back at where you've wandered,
You look back on that path you may
Not set foot on from now onward.
Wayfarer, there is no way;
Only wake-trails on the waters.
The last part of the poem reminds me of the C's discussing the time loop. We can only walk forward because each time the loop is recreated our steps are washed away by the waves or tides.
I've also had multiple occurrences in the past couple weeks to people referencing the section in the bible about not looking back or you'll turn into a pillar of salt. Either in reading or listening to talk radio, it kept coming up. It popped up so much in such a short period of time that the last time I heard the reference it hit me hard and I felt like I heard the twilight zone music and I immediately thought of the time loop. Its like if you look back you will turn to stone, meaning you will freeze trying to figure things out and just when you think you have it all figured out it changes again.
Just thinking out loud. Any thoughts on this?
Well... I bring it up because the scene at the end made my skin crawl, when the Counselor is talking on the phone to Jefe the drug lord (see script below). I bolded the sections that really caught my attention.
Here it is:
Counselor: I’m not sure you understand my position.
Jefe: But I do, Counselor. Actions create consequences which produce new worlds, and they’re all different. Where the bodies are buried in the desert, that is a certain world. Where the bodies are simply left to be found, that is another. And all these worlds, heretofore unknown to us, they must have always been there, must they not?
Counselor: I don’t know. Will you help me?
Jefe: I would urge you to see the truth of the situation you’re in, Counselor. That is my advice. It is not for me to tell you what you should have done or not done. The world in which you seek to undo the mistakes you made is different from the world where the mistakes were made. You are now at the crossing. And you want to choose, but there is no choosing there. There’s only accepting. The choosing was done a long time ago. Are you there, Counselor?
Counselor: Yes.
Jefe: I don’t mean to offend you, but reflective men often find themselves at a place removed from the realities of life. In any case, we should all prepare a place where we can accommodate all the tragedies that sooner or later will come to our lives. But this is an economy few people care to practice. Do you know the words of Machado?
Counselor: I know his name.
Jefe: “…caminante, no hay camino, se hace camino al andar.” Lovely poet. Machado was a schoolteacher and he married a young, beautiful girl. And he loved her very much. And she died. And then he became a great poet. (See full poem below translated)
Counselor: I’m not going to become a great poet.
Jefe: No, perhaps not. But even if you were to do so, it would not help you. Machado would have traded every word, every poem, every verse he ever wrote for one more hour with his beloved. And that is because when it comes to grief, the normal rules of exchange do not apply, because grief transcends value. A man would give entire nations to lift grief off his heart, and yet, you cannot buy anything with grief. Because grief is worthless.
Counselor: Why are you telling me this?
Jefe: Because you continue to deny the reality of the world you’re in. Do you love your wife so much, so completely, that you would exchange places with her upon the wheel? And I don’t mean dying, because dying is easy.
Counselor: Yes! Yes, damn you!
Jefe: Well, that is good to hear, Counselor.
Counselor: What are you saying? Are you saying this is a possibility?
Jefe: No. It’s impossible.
Counselor: You said I was that man at that crossing.
Jefe: Yes. At the understanding that life is not going to take you back. You are the world you have created, and when you cease to exist, this world you have created will also cease to exist. But for those with the understanding that they’re living the last days of the world, death acquires a different meaning. The extinction of all reality is a concept no resignation can encompass. And then, all the grand designs, and all the grand plans will be finally exposed and revealed for what they are.
After that scene I remember thinking wow! some of that stuff sounds similar to what the C's have said.
Here is the poem:
Wayfarer, there is no path
Wayfarer, the only way
Is your footprints and no other.
Wayfarer, there is no way.
Make your way by going farther.
By going farther, make your way
Till looking back at where you've wandered,
You look back on that path you may
Not set foot on from now onward.
Wayfarer, there is no way;
Only wake-trails on the waters.
The last part of the poem reminds me of the C's discussing the time loop. We can only walk forward because each time the loop is recreated our steps are washed away by the waves or tides.
I've also had multiple occurrences in the past couple weeks to people referencing the section in the bible about not looking back or you'll turn into a pillar of salt. Either in reading or listening to talk radio, it kept coming up. It popped up so much in such a short period of time that the last time I heard the reference it hit me hard and I felt like I heard the twilight zone music and I immediately thought of the time loop. Its like if you look back you will turn to stone, meaning you will freeze trying to figure things out and just when you think you have it all figured out it changes again.
Just thinking out loud. Any thoughts on this?
