Instinct transcends good and evil. The propositions we hold dear often continue to transcend good and evil. Despite the experts' diagnosis that the second wave of the pandemic has already begun, the fact that the restoration and recovery strategies aimed at the 'post corona' era are mentioned is consistent with the logic that 'the living must go on living'.
She recently read Tolstoy's War and Peace again. The grand narrative novel set in the background of Napoleon's "War of the Fatherland" in 1812, in which the protagonist Pierre survives the tragedy of the terrible war and grows internally is central to the narrative.
According to statistics, to date, 520,000 people have died from coronavirus worldwide, and far more are suffering from disease, personal loss, and unemployment. The word 'Endless War' against invisible enemies enters our thinking. Pierre, who survives the war, breaks through the boundaries of the novel and slowly enters the professor's world, our present reality.
Pierre is captured by the French army and is housed in the barracks. There, he revives under the care of fellow prisoner, an illiterate farmer Karataev. From this wise and innocent farmer, Pierre learns to accept, endure, and love everything in life. Karataev is his benefactor and teacher.
However, the way he says goodbye to Karataev is sad. The retreating French troops are killing the sick and weak Russian prisoners to increase their mobility. It is clear to anyone that Karataev, who is old and weak and is likely to fall out of the march, will be killed. Karataev, who is about to die, continues to send messages to Pierre with his eyes, but Pierre pretends not to see. After some time, a gunshot rings from the back. Pierre never looked back after that. He limped and climbed the hill.
The ability of the novelist is shown in just two sentences of the novel. Pierre's situation is not unfamiliar. Where is the battlefield? Even in ordinary daily life, weak, sick people, and those who live with danger die, and healthy, not so good, and lucky people live. Neighbors go out of business, friends hurt, people fail, families suffer from illness, and many die slowly. Nevertheless, we continue to live. Sometimes we turn away from a person's hungry eyes. This is because instinct chooses survival.
However, even if you can't look back, you can't any longer walk lightly as on a picnic. You may have to climb the hills, limping for the rest of your life. Perhaps it is politeness on the part of those who have survived to limp for those who are not able.
Some survive because they are strong. However, it seems to be better to live limping than to hate yourself. Limping is realized in thousands of different ways. Enjoying a little less, seeking less the pleasures of life, making more concessions, serving a little more, and being more grateful are ways of limping.
