Life’s Beauty, Inspired by Norm

Dune World Cover by Frank Herbert

Before the semester ends and summer begins, I have something I want to get off my chest: it is simply a fact of life that there is too much beauty in the world, and it saddens me that I will never be able to experience it all.

I will never be able to go back to watch Amadeus or Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark in theaters. I can never read Dune by Frank Herbert as it is serialized in Analog magazine. I can never attest to Michael Jordan’s greatness firsthand, or listen to Stevie Wonder on the radio while driving a roofless car that gets a lower gas mileage than a modern RV. Even though I can experience these in the present, everyone knows that witnessing something beautiful as it happens is different from watching it in retrospect.

My heart sinks when I think about everything that I have missed out on and everything that I will miss out on. Just thinking about it makes me go into a ‘Fight or Flight’ response. I retreat inward, and my mind shuts down purely out of angst. 

I free myself from this prison of my own making by considering my favorite quote on Twitter (oh, how Gen Z of me!) from comedian Norm Macdonald: “At times, the joy that life attacks me with is unbearable and leads to gasping hysterical laughter. I find myself completely out of control and wonder how life could surprise me again and again and again, so completely. How could a man be a cynic? It is a sin.” Ironic that a quote so poetic and succinct comes from a man whose greatest moments come from rambling stories ending in a punchline that makes you laugh and groan at the same time.

Now, I do not pretend to fully understand Norm Macdonald’s humor, even though I do enjoy his interviews. The incomprehensibility and the ‘I don’t know why this is funny, it just is’ of Norm’s comedy is what makes it so incredibly special and unique. What I do know is that this worldview – one of not just optimism but of a deep understanding of the human condition – is worthy of study and reflection.  

Even though Norm Macdonald passed away in 2021 from a battle with cancer, his message will serve as an inspiration for the rest of my own life. Yes, I will never be able to experience everything in my life – there are simply too many beautiful things that you could fill an infinite number of lifetimes with and still have lots leftover – and it would be impossible to discover every beautiful thing as it happens. But, this is no reason to despair or become cynical or angry at life. Instead, treat every moment of beauty within your lives with joy. Appreciate the beauty that has been made accessible to you by others, despite when it might have been created. Beauty is randomly distributed in life; be happy that you are not only able to experience it but treasure the surprise that comes along. It is this randomness that gives people different experiences and provides meaning, making individuals truly unique. 

This summer, find the randomness within your own lives and celebrate it with your entire heart. Explore every surprise and opportunity that life presents and lose control of yourself in those moments, soaking and basking in the glory of a beautiful world. It would be a sin not to.

I hope everyone has a summer filled with beauty, no matter where one finds it. I am excited to hear about the random, beautiful, and simply amazing things you all will accomplish this summer in the future, no matter when. Thank you all for a great semester, and may God bless you with a life full of beautiful surprises. I’ll see you all soon.

Pierce Bruner

Norm Macdonald from his appearance on CONAN