Alfie didn't know

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Added: Mon. Dec 03, 2012 7:07pm
Posted in: Living

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In 1966, Michael Caine starred in the movie Alfie. He portrayed a man who went through life but never seemed to learn from it. His life was empty and devoid of true feelings for another; his only pleasure was the birds - his euphemism for beautiful women. As the movie closes he starts to realize there is more to life than that. In the final scene, Alfie looks back and assesses his life. Here is what he has to say:

Alfie: You know what? When I look back on my little life and the birds I've known, and think of all the things they've done for me and the little I've done for them, you'd think I've had the best of it along the line. But what have I got out of it? I've got a bob or two, some decent clothes, a car, I've got me health back and I ain't attached. But I ain't got me peace of mind - and if you ain't got that, you ain't got nothing. I dunno. It seems to me if they ain't got you one way they've got you another. So what's the answer? That's what I keep asking myself - what's it all about? Know what I mean?

The question Alfie asks is one we all probably ask ourselves at one time or another. "What's it all about?" Of course, the "it" is life. Maybe there is no answer. Maybe we simply aren't around long enough to answer the question. Maybe Joseph Campbell, the noted mythologist, had it when he said, "Life is like arriving late for a movie, having to figure out what is going on without bothering everybody with a lot of questions, then being unexpectedly called away before you find out how it ends."

Then again, it could be that the answer is so far beyond our intelligence, beyond our ken, that we will never know how we fit into the scheme of things until we're unexpectedly called away. Until then, it seems each of us writes our own rules about how we will live our lives and what is important. You can talk about ethics, morals and rules of conduct, but what stands out to me is that when people place their own welfare above all others, bad things happen. And because of that, we often see greed and self-interest writ large in business, politics and relationships. I may not know what's it all about, but I know what it isn't all about; it isn't about greed and self-interest.