Perpetual Light Against Fatalism

     I have the No Country for Eight Spot Butterflies publication of Aguon's The Properties of Perpetual Light so my focus was shifted towards finding the two topics as I read and trying to discern their meaning and why one might be a better title to encompass Aguon's essays. On page 6, Aguon defines perpetual light as the ancient beauty: love. He comes to this conclusion based on the fact that, in the Bible, the only thing that precedes light is love. In the same essay, he describes hope as a stubborn chink of light in the dark, and faith as setting out in that darkness with only the belief of light to guide us. He remarks on the importance of discovering and fulfilling one's destiny without interfering with another. In these ways, human destiny is to faithfully journey towards hope in order to reach our perpetual light; to use love to discover and fulfill our destiny. 

    Many times throughout the first half of Aguon's writings he describes this semi-nihilistic perspective of the modern generations, this sense of fatalism that keeps us from even attempting to do anything that can change the world or the fate of the world. We've discussed this before while reading Ozeki, in which we talked about the different ways in which her characters attempted to leave a positive impact in their wake; the way in which Nao acted as a foil to Oliver because he devoted his entire life to saving the environment while she felt she lacked the ability to do enough to leave an impact. 

    This plays into our observations of time, and how we view time as linear or geographic. We are very set in our understanding of beginning and end and often self-sabotage our abilities because of the pressures of time. I think Aguon is attempting to reveal a new method of removing ourselves from linear time, and the effect it could have on the world if we can do so effectively. Time is often one of the leading factors that cause selfish action. Just like Nao and Oliver, we are all attempting to leave our mark on the world. In Aguon's case, he is attempting to use his time to positively impact others, specifically in the face of those who are impacting the world negatively. It's a beautiful and motivating sentiment to his idea that love can save the world, and that this love can help us achieve our destiny. Oftentimes these small beauties are what provide hope to fatalistic mindsets, to show that it is possible to change the world and that there is always a reason to attempt positive action. 


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