Seriously?

I saw a movie in which the characters did all sorts of miserable things to each other, up to and including murder. But the strikingly unforgettable part was when the credits started to roll. All the actors, including those whose characters had been murdered, were enjoying themselves partying with each other, even with those who had done terrible things to them in the movie. I'm grateful that the effect of this reverberates in me with increasing clarity.

I wonder if the more sensitive we are, the lighter the trauma we meet, and vice versa? One way or another, life's challenging existential realities will eventually crack open the thickest of skulls and the most armored of hearts. Regardless of how distracted you try to remain, you can't keep the busy, bouncy, bobble-head routine going for life. Then of course, we tend to crash down into the other extreme: wallowing in meaninglessness, cynicism etc.

There's a terrific Zen saying: "Not one, not two." This transcends opposites, so it can't be understood at our ordinary dualistic level of consciousness. Applying this saying to the movie suggests that our lives are not merely roles, our lives are to be taken seriously: we should take good care of ourselves, others, animals, the planet etc. And at the very same time, we are all just playing temporary, individual roles, so let's not take ourselves too seriously.

So who are we? remembering "Not one, not two.": http://www.johnlovas.com/2016/03/content-of-consciousness-itself.html

“We are consciousness itself, knowing itself, being itself, expressing itself out of the void into form.” Jack Kornfield