The Compass

This past week I was speaking with James when I referenced a comic I had found while trolling StumbleUpon. I saw the comic months ago, but it has had tremendous staying power in my mind. When I first “read” it (I use quotation marks because there are no actual words in the comic), I thought it was quite sad. And when I shared it on Facebook this past weekend, the only comment it got in response was “wtf. depressing…”. But I think there is an incredible message here about the world we allow ourselves, and sometimes must even force ourselves, to participate in.

Click here to read the comic and then mosey back here for my thoughts.

I guess in some ways the message is clear: we are far more brutal to one another than we care to admit. I’ve always been drawn to stories about humanity that give the perspective of an outsider. Another wonderful example is Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael. When I was in high school, and ever so slightly more pretentious than I am today, I frequently referenced Quinn’s imagery of the flying machine, gliding almost imperceptibly to the ground. Destined to crash.

But back to Raised By Wolves. I want to mention briefly how those final few panels have stayed with me. I think of this girl, a stranger here, visiting the humans and taking in all of our disappointing ways. And when you feel that alone all you want to do is go home. But sometimes home is a place in between - a place or a person that was temporary. And it is because of this temporary state that it was in fact so profound. For this girl, her short time in the woods with that strange new friend was home. And what is in fact so tragic is that home is sometimes a place you can never return to.

May we always have homes that are at least attainable.

-Jen