“Maybe it’s important to open up to people — people who are right there with you, not some thousand miles away in another universe. Or maybe it’s something else. Maybe I should just settle for not knowing. Maybe it’s good just to know that you’re not the only one who doesn’t know. Maybe… maybe I should stop thinking.”
He’s not exactly a household name, but Bryan Lee O’Malley
has really started to develop somewhat of a geek following. He’s the cartoonist behind the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, which very much pander to the retro video game enthusiast.
As you may already know, the Scott Pilgrim series went on to inspire a movie with Michael Cera, which also gained somewhat of a geek following. For anyone who grew up playing video games in the 80s and 90s, this series offered a lot of inside jokes and geeky humor. Before he invented Scott Pilgrim though, O’Malley had another graphic novel called Lost At Sea
To be honest, this “early work” is not nearly as good as the Scott Pilgrim series, but the quote above is certainly worth considering. Sometimes, we just don’t know something and we have to come to accept that. It may almost be better to take comfort in knowing that you’re not the only one who doesn’t know. Yes, we should all search for truth and meaning, but it is almost this journey that is more valuable than any answers we may find.
On a side note, with a name like O’Malley, I had certain expectations of this Canadian cartoonist. As it turns out, he has a Korean mother and a French-Canadian father. Perhaps it is precisely because of this unique mix of cultures that O’Malley offers the perspectives that he does.
As with all work, I believe that you get better with age, practice and knowledge of your craft.
I like the end of the quote “maybe I should stop thinking” because thinking is what cramps most people in the decision making process. Zen believes in this in many different forms, including Bruce Lee’s lesson at the beginning of Enter the Dragon to a student that is thinking about hitting.
That actually echoes a sentiment I expressed in an older post. We can easily get stuck in the wishing/thinking phase and never take any action.
I went back to read that post and was pleasantly surprised that it was the post that DCR and I went off on the Star Trek tangent.
I haven’t seen Scott Pilgrim Vs the World yet but have heard it is quite good. Anyhow I agree that too much thinking can be a bad thing.
– Robert
I have never heard of the Scott Pilgram series they made a movie out of or Bryan Lee O’Malley. I guess O’Malley got tired of drawing Scott Pilgram’s face each day. I guess I can take comfort that I just don’t want to know.