The letters Havel wrote to his wife, Olga,
while he was in prison were subjected to close scrutiny and censorship by the
Communist authorities. He was not allowed to describe what was happening to him
in prison or to write about his personal circumstances, only to write in
generalities. And so he wrote philosophical discourses, with observations far
more potent and consequential perhaps than his captors understood. This song
is an attempt to give lyrical form to what Havel wrote, in the course of
several letters, about the meaning of life.
mp3* score: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 *A donation of $1 is suggested for each song downloaded. Donations can be sent via PayPal to truecomedy@truecomedy.org or by check payable to True Comedy Theatre Company, at 212 East 13th Street #4A, New York, NY 10003, U.S.A. These donations will be used as follows: one-third of the total donations will be used to pay the artists, one-third will go to the Dagmar and Vaclav Havel Foundation VIZE 97, and one-third will be used for the general purposes of True Comedy Theatre Company, a 501(c)3 nonprofit tax-exempt corporation incorporated in the state of New York for the purpose of producing original plays and performance artworks. Contributions are fully tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. |
The Meaning of Life
Unfamiliar information like some astronomic data or a social calculation that can be communicated by someone who knows about it to someone who doesn't: That's not the meaning of life.
Any effort to project the fundamental value of existence as a quantity as if it were a product that is understood objectively or graspable conceptually: That's not the meaning of life.
If you think that you are great or more important just by virtue of your having learned some rudimentary information that some others to their sorry fortune haven't yet discovered: That's not the meaning of life.
People can't be divided up Into two antithetical groups -- those who are informed and those who aren't, the cognoscenti and the dupes.
History has demonstrated that when people find themselves believing that the truth is a commodity and that the world can be improved by spreading their beliefs as fast as possible: That's not the meaning life.
When illusions lead to the conviction that to propagate a fundamental truth, the end will justify whatever means is necessary, that the most effective means is violence: That's not the meaning of life.
Any notion of some finite knowledge that untangles every problem and discourages discovery or any further exploration or investigation of our basic values: That's not the meaning of life.
Anything meaningful that's ever been said, Including every good religious book, Is remarkable for what is not defined, For it's incomplete outlook.
Something that is in agreement with our inner understanding, something that obliges us or overwhelms or speaks to us and never tries to answer but suggests a way to live with questions: That's the meaning of life. |