The quote below almost reminds me of my friend Brendan. We recently discussed purpose here, among other topics. It's been part of a continuous discussion since we first discussed my favorite book Siddhartha.
The Neverending Story is a story within a story. In the novel, the book The Neverending Story has two snakes eating each other by the tail. Reading the description reminds me of a yin yang like symbol.
In chapter three, the story wanders to the Swamps of Sadness-where the oldest being in Fantastica lives. Morla the Aged One is a tortoise. She speaks to herself calling herself "old woman" and uses the first person plural "we." Possibly a form depressive disorder from her environment. She resist helping and insist:
“Sakes alive!” Morla gurgled. “We’re old, son, much too old. Lived long enough. Seen too much. When you know as much as we do, nothing matters. Things just repeat. Day and night, summer and winter. The world is empty and aimless. Everything circles around. Whatever starts up must pass away, whatever is born must die. It all cancels out, good and bad, beautiful and ugly. Everything’s empty. Nothing is real. Nothing matters.”
Morla reminds me of Benjamin from Animal Farm. But, unlike Benjamin, Morla lives in a fantasy land. It's hard to say how much of Morla's apathy is due to her age versus living in the Swamps of Sadness.
