BY MARCO MAGNI

“If food is the prose of a party, then lights are its poetry”

The kaleidoscope of iridescence these days – heralding the upcoming Christmas holidays – appears like a joyful flame shining against the darkness of night and awakens that desire of light we all share.

That same brightness suddenly goes out, metaphorically, from the life of William Parrish – media mogul played by Anthony Hopkins in the film “Meet Joe Black”. He had everything you could want from life: success, money and a wonderful family.

Love and death are the main themes of the film: a discordant pair, almost an oxymoron, but one that is irrefutably intriguing and engaging.

Death (Joe Black) appears on Earth in search of life, its emotions, its joys and its sorrows; a trip to a reality that is full of limitations, but in which we are often able to get in touch with love in everyone and convey a positive message.

Whether young or old, strong or weak, rich or poor, each of us can be a guiding beacon: we just need to discover our own inner light, unique and inimitable in colour and nuances. Once it is turned on, it is alive, shining and powerful!

William Parrish, you have taught me that there are no easy solutions in our daily journey into the unknown, but we must learn to listen to ourselves to empathize with others and soothe the despair of those who are suffering, transforming it into the awareness of a life of comforting and encouragement for all.

“I want you to get swept away out there. I want you to levitate. I want you to sing with rapture and dance like a Dervish.”

“Be deliriously happy or at least leave yourself open to be”

“I know it’s a cornball thing, but love is passion. Obsession. Someone you can’t live without”

William Parrish, you have encouraged me to never give up: for myself, for my family and for the whole community; to tenaciously believe that the next few days will be even brighter than the previous ones, because it is the strength of our convictions that creates and shapes our lives!

“ I say, fall head over heels. Find someone you can love like crazy and who will love you the same way back. How do you find him? Well, you forget your head, and you listen to your heart. And I’m not hearing any heart. ‘Cause the truth is, honey, there’s no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love, well, you haven’t lived a life at all. But you have to try, cause if you haven’t tried, you haven’t lived.”

William Parrish, I learnt to have “trust, responsibility, taking the weight for your choices and feelings, and spending the rest of your life living up to them”

“Multiply it by infinity, and take it to the depth of forever, and you will still have barely a glimpse of what I’m talking about”

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