May You Live in Interesting Times

“May You Life in Interesting Times.” An evocative phrase. What does it raise for you?

For Stirling, it felt like a specter. It reminded him of how many of our friends, when faced with a problematic situation but are unwilling to address it directly, glance sideways at each other with a drawn-out, laconic, definitely ironic, “Innnnnterestingggggg….” It felt precarious, menacing.

And he was right in terms of the origin of that phrase. It is a “curse” purportedly originating in China, but which was actually made up by a European politician. So in this way, it is a “counterfeit curse” that evokes fear of these challenging, menacing, “interesting” times.

But I had another interpretation. For me, it was a blessing of continued curiosity. A wish that we may all be alert to our lives. Two of my favorite quotes, from author Albert Camus and poet David Whyte, point at a similar invocation:

• “Query: How not to waste one’s time? Answer: To be aware of it all the while.” -Albert Camus

• “Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.” - David Whyte

Paolo Baratta, President of La Biennale di Venezia, also offers this additional interpretation that concurs with mine: “it could also simply be an invitation to always see and consider the course of human events in their complexity….” This wish for continued interest, an upright and awake approach, is what I hope for in my relationship, in my marriage.

I aim to be in my relationship as the artists are. As Ralph Rugoff, curator of the 58th International Art Exhibition in Venice, describes, the artists are “Animated by boundless curiosity and puncturing wit, their work encourages us to look askance at all unquestioned categories, concepts and subjectivities. It invites us to consider multiple alternatives and unfamiliar vantage points….”

This theme, this art, this playful encounter with art, this ongoing conversation that La Biennale has inspired within me and between Stirling and I, is a call to wake up. “May you life in interesting times,” invites me to open my eyes, mind, life.

And finally (enough with all these quotes) it recalls early misty mornings at the San Francisco Zen Center where from a young age I’d hear and call out this chant from Dogen,

“Let me respectfully remind you/Life and death are of supreme importance,/Time passes swiftly and opportunity is lost./Each of us should strive to awaken,/Awaken, take heed!/Do not squander your life.”