Reading The Wall

I'm reading a book called The Wall by Marlen Haushofer that was written in 1963.  It is now on my list of favorite reads.  I found that much of it reflects my own feelings about the self and my perception of "god".

I found this important;

She talks about feeling pity for all animals and people because we are given life being given a choice and then said that perhaps people are even more deserving of pity they are "given just enough intelligence to resist they natural cause of things. It has made them malicious and desperate and not very lovable". She goes on to say "There is no emotion more sensible than love. It makes life more bearable for both the lover and the loved. Only, we should have recognized early enough that this was our only hope for a better life."

As I try to fit into the streaming madness on the sidewalks of Shang Hi, I realized how desperate people are. The madness of overpopulation is overwhelming. It is the same in almost any city. The streets of New York or Tokyo are no different I wonder shouldn't love extend to the universe that supports us, the planet we life on or the children of our children's children?  We clamor for more and more still. Some just beg for shelter or enough to eat to stay alive. What love can exist when our desperation for more robs the unfortunate that we use as stepping stones to grow disproportionately and uselessly wealthy?

This trip has opened my eyes to more than I imagined.