K A R I N ⎮ B J A R N E
This little piece is for my grandparents,
Karin and Bjarne.
They got married in 1949.
I remember the story of the two of them
being recently an official couple and my
grandfather studied abroad in Newcastle and
my grandmother received numerous letters in
the mail from my grandfather, and at one
point the mail man said:
"I think he must be in love!"
to my grandmother. It's a little bit clichè,
but it's something so sweet about it.
She always tells the story with such
enthusiasm and a little touch of humour
even though she's 88. She's my proof that
age is just a number, age might give you a few
practical restrictions, but if you're young
at heart, no one can say anything against
that your philosophy of life is wrong.
I just saw a documentary about the pianist
Alice Herz Sommer, a 109 year old woman
who was the oldest pianist and holocaust
survivor until her death in early 2014.
In the midst of the german invasion in
In the midst of the german invasion in
Prague, she was asked to play, and she
played concerts which seemed to take
everyone even the german officers away
from the harsh reality. There were even
guards listening from the outside through
the window. It is a beautiful reminder
of what music can do and how
significant it really is.
But the point of mentioning Alice is her
appreciation, spark and outlook on life.
Through music which she says brings
her to another world, she has learned
to see the beauty about life.
People always see disadvantages about
getting old, but I believe that as long as
your mind is intact and clear, you have the
time of your life to immerse yourself
with the things you love, and just stay in
it, be it, create your own sense of reality in it.
And you can't be selfish about it, cause
you're old.
But she mentioned that you have to get this
old to realize life's beauty. It's a interesting
statement, but I think that depends
more on the individual. I suppose I would
have to get old first to answer that, as I'm
looking at my life in retrospective.
I myself have not experienced that kind
of love my grandparents have yet, but
if I do I would be forever grateful.
I do believe there's something special,
something more to love, like it surpasses
reality, I think the bonds we create
is not for granted even though in the end
we die alone, and we are sepparated.
I think love goes beyond the dimensions of
reality, and it's something worth living for
I believe. Just like the music,
the passion, for Alice Sommer, it's her
own sense of something otherworldly,
something holy.
All pictures taken by Isabel H.R
