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"Me and You" (excerpt) - Martin Buber
Laurie 2022-04-02 09:01:17
When Andersen offered a crimson rose to the hideous little dishwashing girl in the inn (Baustowski: "The Golden Rose: The Stagecoach of the Night"), he did so not Condescending pity. All pity awaits, the beauty of others and the ugliness of the little girl, the humbleness of her status, the comparison between her and other objects, in a word, the chance of fate. But in this moment of encounter between "I" and "you", the difference between the beings due to chance suddenly disappeared. Her ugliness and lowliness are just random tricks of fate, while "I" transcends time and fate and Her "you" met. For, although she is but a finite counterpart, her "you" is the absolute being that transcends this universe ruled by ruthless causality. At this moment, "you" is the world that dominates all things, and "I" meets the tormented and discriminated soul of "you" with all my life. With joy and trembling, the whole existence of "I" is immersed in the splendid brilliance of "you". However, the encounter between "I" and "you", the pure relationship between "I-you" both transcends time and remains in time, it is only an eternal moment in the long river of time. People are destined to stay together in the infinite stretch of time. Therefore, he cannot but inhabit the world of "you", and he cannot return to the world of "it" from time to time, wandering back and forth between the uniqueness of "I-you" and the inclusiveness of "I-it". This duality is the real human condition. This is the sadness of life, and this is the greatness of life. Because, although people have to stay in the world of "it" in order to survive, people's burning desire for "you" makes people constantly resist it and surpass it. It is this resistance that creates people's spirit and morality. As with art, it is what makes people who they are. "O man, stand in all the majesty of truth and listen to the revelation that man cannot live without 'it', but he who lives by 'it' ceases to be man."
Extended Reading
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Man: I actually love my refrigerator. It's such a cool thing. It remains at one corner. It keeps its mouth shut. I love my refrigerator. Nothing else but my refrigerator!