I've often thought that it would be easier to be normal. To not think and worry about the things that I think and worry about. To be, as my friend's mom puts it "a first time arounder." (referring to reincarnation and learning as you live)."Colin," Dunworthy said, "Sometimes you do everything you can, and you still can't save them."
I think it is easier not to think. Not to challenge yourself. It is acceptable to just plod through life, not making waves. As much as we say we value individuality in this country, I think that notion is patently false: We value individuality as long as it conforms to our ideas of what is still acceptable.
It's easier not to think. To live ones life in a fog. Those who don't live their lives continually battling upstream, against a sea of banal and mediocrity. And it's a hard fight -- some people just can't take it. The either slip into obscurity, or flare out like a roman candle.
It is strength and beauty that keeps us going. A desire to keep bringing light into the world, and to see who and what we become as we move through our lives.
Colin swiped at his tears with the back of his hand. "But not always."
Always, Dunworthy thought. "No," he said. "Not always."
"Sometimes you can save them," Colin said stubbornly.
-Connie Willis, Doomsday Book