Life of Pi

I just finished reading the book for my reading club. Not a moment too soon, as our dinner is tomorrow night. "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel is a fascinating novel and I am now left with quite a bit to think about.

The main point I took away from reading this story, was the fact that we (as in all life) will do anything to survive. In order to survive, one must learn to adapt and when something major changes, all bets are off on how someone or something may react. Survival of the fittest....there is nothing more true to life.

I hate change...always have. The thing is, days, months, even years later, I end up realizing that the change was meant to be and actually brought about events which aided my existence in some manner. I truely believe the Universe does bring us what we need most at the time, even if we are too blinded by our own "inner stories" to recognize it.

When Richard Parker, the bengal tiger, does leave Pi, it is unceremonious and left both Pi and the reader wanting more. Why? Pi goes on with a discertation of what he would have said to his ex-companion and was not allowed, due to the tigers quick exit. Did Richard Parker regret his decision to leap onto land and into the forrest? Probably not. He was surviving, running on instinct. There is no emotional dramas running through his mind. That trait is human. Our egos crave more....an emotional ending, a story to tell (if even just in our own heads). Animals live and survive. They love, they feel pain and sadness...but there is no story, just something that happens and they move on. It is just there. Humans add to the story, make it larger than life. We feed on it, until another story comes along to take our attention. Can this habit be broken? I am damn well going to try and find out.