Lions and Tigers and Bears but Mostly Tigers

I had the fabulous opportunity to both see Yann Martel speak at the Convocation this past Thursday and to go to his master class prior to his speech. Since I am recalcitrant and have never read Life of Pi or much of Martel's other work, I think I did not get as much out of it as I could have, which is regrettable. However, his points still resonated with me, especially the idea of reason as a means to an end, not an end in itself. I have myself been guilty of holding reason above all else. I do tend to be a realist, after all. However, to cling solely to reason, especially at the expense of faith, is to miss many of the most beautiful things in life, the things that make reality an echo in Pan's cave, or maybe in Plato's cave. Martel's mythic work mirrors a truth of life, one that we discussed in class on Tuesday: we are really just living a giant myth. Are we not all a sort of miniature Odysseus, trying to find our way home? But perhaps, like the Swimmer, we do not know what home really is; only that it probably lies beyond death. What could possibly be beyond death, though? Some would say oblivion, others would say heaven for good people and hell for bad people, and still others would say heaven for everyone. Is it the Emerald City after a poppy-sleep? Is it the Elysian Fields? Who knows? I can only speculate. But the longer I live--and I have not lived very long, so this may very well change--the more I am convinced that, bleak as it sounds, home is something after death.