Life imitating art? Or art imitating life?
I recently binge watched all 9 seasons of the TV show ‘How I Met your Mother’ and for those that may not have seen it, well spoiler alert here ok?
My wife often comments that when you enjoy a great show you almost don’t want it to end and that when it does end it’s like you’re saying goodbye to a friend (how good a friend depending on the quality of the show).
Like many others, I felt a bit miffed by the abrupt series conclusion—it left me wanting more.
To provide some context in case you haven’t seen the show, basically the show is about 5 friends and the journey of the main character as he recounts to his kids the story of how he met their mother.
If you haven’t seen it you should either watch it or perhaps a quick wiki read to get the gist of what the show is about.
As such, the ending was what really made me think - the sadness of losing your life partner is complex, no doubt painful and for whatever reason resonated for me.
I guess my wife and I have had conversations over ideally who should go first (sounds morbid right?) however when I think about how sad the person who is left behind would feel, do I want my wife to go through that grief? Or should I shoulder that burden because I love her so much?
Of course, we don’t get to choose how we leave this world—fate or circumstances often decide for us. But that doesn’t mean we can’t reflect on it to appreciate the preciousness of life.
On a personal level I myself have found myself sharing stories with my kids about my upbringing and stories about their grandfather as my father passed away last December.
In relation to art imitating life or life imitating art, it definitely hit me in the feels when the main character Ted and his wife commented that they’re officially an old couple now that they had run out of stories to share. My wife will often herself said I’ve told that story before 😅
Going through school and studying English I often wondered if the texts that we were reading so deeply into were actually written with that intention, or did we as human beings look for substance beyond what the author originally intended?
I suppose it’s possibly a part of human nature that certain themes and ideas could strike a chord and resonate within us. That very vibration can cause other emotions to be evoked within us through sympathetic resonance the same way playing an A note next to a guitar might get the A string vibrating.
In that sense, I guess it becomes less important of the question of whether it was art imitating life or life imitating art and more about what does this theme that resonates so deeply tell me?
Why does it resonate and if there some kind of application I should be looking to harness these ideas?
Thinking about the day when my wife or I may no longer be around reminds me to cherish every moment—even the difficult, tedious, and mundane ones. Because in the end, those might be the moments we long for the most.
Has a book, movie, or piece of art ever struck a deep emotional chord with you? What was it, and why do you think it resonated so strongly?
