Elysium
Before you read this one, make sure you click on the video and listen as you read!
Enjoy!
This theme is about death. More importantly, what it means to us if we live a life that’s full and complete. It symbolizes the life that we can reflect to our children. It is a summary of what an honorable person leaves behind and takes with him to the afterlife.
Being the central theme of the character Maximus, in Gladiator; this theme picks up towards the end when Maximus dies after avenging Marcus Aurelius’ death at the hands of the evil Commodus. He returns Rome to the hands of the Senate and the people;
“These were the wishes of Marcus Aurelius….”
Echoed by a beautiful voice, the lullaby of a mother’s embrace, her song as she cradles you sleep. Some of the first memories you have as a child are reprojected to you. You understand that you are safe, there is nothing to fear. The song carries your soul to a place that feels beautiful. There is no pain, the heavy anchors of this world have released you from the prison… Walk forward, feel the weightlessness… You smell the grass, vibrant, a fragrance that carries with it the satisfactions of this world. Eating, breathing, resting, you walk every step feels great, like a reintroductions of the senses… For me, it was the first time you remember something amazing… The leaves, the warm water, the ocean, the skin of a loved one. The taste of a warm brownie, freshly baked from grandma’s oven… The first lunar eclipse you saw with Dad…. The taste of chocolate milk….
Then as you walk towards the light you feel the warmth of the Universe. However you see it. You feel the full energy of the Universe, from which you are from. Understand the inner workings of this vast physical system that you’ve been a part of. A piece in the chain, of which every link is as important as the last. A brush stroke, on a canvas of beautiful art. A stitch on a piece of clothing. We are all unique, “the universes says”… We are all part of a tapestry that passess through time and space for all eternity… We are as bright as all the other lights on the christmas tree… All facing different directions to shine their light for all to see…
The warm song invites us further into this world were we are greeted by the most universal and powerful force to transcend the cosmos. Love. As cheesy and as corny as that sounds, how is it possible for us modern human beings to not understand the basic physical law of energy preservation. The universe, which is made up of pure energy, cannot be without this energy. The energy in it will never die, perpetuating for all eternity spread throughout the universe until time/space compress back upon itself and this existence repeats forever echoing in the cosmos. It is therefore by physical law, that all the particles of the world are inherently attracted to each other and cannot ever separate.
The love that humanity feels, and the reason why love feels good to us, is because it’s a poem of the universe. As we come close to those we love and they part from our lives, is simply a verse in the universal poem. Particles come together and they join towards each other and then explode, sending them back again through the journey of life. So to, are we born into this world, and at one point in our lives experience love in some form or another, and then we die, going back into the universe.
Everything in life is built around this rhythm, back and forth, light and dark, life and death. They are both sides of the same coin, and they flip for all eternity in a cycle.
This song triumphantly reminds us, that there is NOTHING to fear in regards to death. It is the great journey, the next side of the coin. Lead the life you live with honor, live your life with passion, love until every cell in your body can love no more. Dwell on these wonderful accomplishments as you grow old through life, and pass them on the next generation, the next process, the passing of your soul on to your children. And as the light of this world grows dim, and the sounds falter into the darkness; rejoice! For there is another light growing brighter; one that only you now can see. Rejoin those that went before you and are now standing here. Welcoming you in the next world, the next transformation of your matter into a new form of energy. Pass on knowing that what you do in this life, will echo in eternity.
Know that when you die, those that remain behind will also be your legacy. Your friends, your family, your children. Their souls have all been touched by yours at a certain time in your lifetime. That interaction will reverberate as they pass it on to the next person and so on. Your influence will have had a butterfly effect of whatever energy you choose to send out. (So make sure it is always something good).
That is why the stories of prophets, universal across our planet, all offer hope. They all preach love and forgiveness. The universe wants to share this poem with us, it wants us to promote it and spread it. To share the fact that we are all star stuff. We will continue on to existence forever connected and reunited in the next life. So I say, be good to your fellow neighbor in life, for it will echo on to the rest of the universe; forever.