Although our collective cultural enthrallment with Vampires has
(pardon the pun) died down a bit, I believe that the story of the Vampire will
forever hold a special place in the psyche of humans. Garlic, stakes, silver
and sunlight aside, I believe we are all—metaphorically—Vampires.
Stories in a culture are a mirror held up to our collective
consciousness, and the story of the Vampire is no exception. Even blood is an
important metaphor here. Blood represents our life force in an important way. It
animates us, and a body drained of blood is still intact and looks much the
same, but is without life. Vampires do not eat us whole, ripping flesh from
bone like any other meat eater; humans included. The poetic beauty of Vampires
is that they only take our life force, leaving us otherwise intact. Also an apt
metaphor for Capitalism, I think.
Vampirism could be seen as a metaphor for how we live much of
our lives. Money, time, energy, and emotions… they are all life force. From
time-to-time we feel suitably alive, and animated by the life force flowing
through us. Other times, we feel drained of our life forces either through
individuals, or through systems like Capitalism, that leave us feeling like we
are barely clinging to life. This is to say, some times we feel more Vampire
than human. If you are drained to such an extent that you die, you will
inevitably turn into a vampire too: doomed to drain the life force from others
and perpetuating the cycle. This is something to watch out for.
But, besides being a cautionary tale of energy exchange, the
metaphor is also appropriate for how each of us chooses to live our lives.
Humans all have the thirst; except
for us, it translates into a feeling of “I need more”. This drive for always
getting more is our human nature, and without it, our species would die off
because we would completely stop striving for survival. But unfortunately this
thirst cannot be quenched either. We never get to a point in our lives where we
say: “Ok, this is enough. I am going to stop now and just live with what I
have.” We somehow always feel like we are just teetering on the brink of
survival. We are always parched, no matter how much we drink!
So why the fascination with Vampires, when they represent such
an ugly truth about our nature? I think it is because the story of Vampires
shows the outcomes of choosing (or not) to go against your biological
tendencies. Good Vampires choose to be more than what nature rendered them as,
whilst evil Vampires revel in their place in the food chain, and completely
give in to their instinct to kill and drain. Ironically, even though Vampires
represent an evolved species, when a vampire chooses to embrace his nature, he
is reduced to nothing more than an animal. The good Vampire, that learns to
live with his unquenchable thirst, goes on to pursue a meaningful life. Within
this paradox lies our fascination with Vampires.
Homo
sapiens sapien means “The man that knows that he knows”. We know much
about our human nature, yet if we choose to give into it completely, we are
reduced to animals. And that is what a vampire is: Homo sapiens anamalus…the man that knows he is an animal. In this
way, we are all Vampires, unless we choose to be more than that.
So I propose we all learn to live with the thirst. Instead of telling ourselves: “I will be happy when I
get more money/ a mate/ that house/ this new job/ more sex/ that next vacation
etc”, we choose to accept the truth that even though this thirst might seem
life threatening and very visceral, it is NOT going to be quenched by the next
achieved goal. Of course, we will never stop striving, but we must learn to
live a joyful life while we pursue
our goals. It is a delicate balance, and since our lives are always in flux—dependent
on a million factors from sleep, to traffic, to state of mind—the thirst will
seem stronger sometimes. When we are tired, we reach for candy; when we are
lonely we look for sex; when we are sad, we dream about money. Our suffering is
vast and varied, but it is all connected. And therefore, most of it can be alleviated
simply through acknowledgement. Acknowledge your thirst, and then move toward
enjoying your life anyway.
