During the month of February, I finished two books and saw six movies, four of them for the first time. I also saw one play.

Personal

Although it is the shortest month of the year, this particular February felt like three lifetimes. It was a month of planning and prepping. I have realized that it's lightness, rather than weight, what I'm going after in this stage of my life.

Books

I finished El invencible verano de Liliana, which I thought was excellent and I thoroughly recommend. It's a sad book given the context under which it came to be but I see it as a rebellious act of love. Rarely do I come across a piece of work with so many beautiful references. It gave me an enormous desire to live, seek new feelings, see new things with my eyes, read more poetry, listen to old songs. It is true that every person is a universe, and this book is a window into Liliana's universe.

I also read The Fall by Camus, which I also enjoyed but I didn't feel as alluring as The Stranger. I will probably come back to it in the future since it gave me a lot to think about but I didn't really connect with it.

In El invencible verano de Liliana, the following poem is mentioned and included, which I genuinely found so touching and appropriate. I share it here:

Music

Also in El invencible verano de Liliana, the song Lucha de gigantes plays a significant role in the backdrop, and I remembered it is also part of the end credits Soundtrack in Amores Perros (2000), great movie. I am including a live performance of it here.

Movies

Out of the four movies I watched for the first time in February, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, and The Brutalist stood out due to their soundtracks by Philip Glass and Daniel Bloomberg, respectively. The set design and cinematography in Mishima were really breathtaking, and I'd love to see it in the theater some day. It's one of those movies where some frames could easily be paintings.

I also have to say, I found the first half of The Brutalist so excellent, it nearly brought me to tears a couple of times but by the time it ended I was not convinced it had to be so long and I was not totally satisfied with the way the story developed. Not going to spoil anything but I will just say that if it had ended shortly after the intermission, it would have been a 5/5 for me.

Plays

I had the opportunity to see The Vagina Monologues put up by NMSU theater and it was really an experience to see the talented performers and their work. It's interesting how vulnerability takes strength; how the act of opening oneself up to potential judgment or harm requires a deeper courage than keeping everything safely hidden. The performers embodied this paradox beautifully. I definitely think you should see it if you have the chance. These topics should be shared especially in times like these.

Closing thoughts

I have been busy decluttering and downsizing all my possessions, hence the reason this monthly review goes up so late into the month. I have been working on arrangements and plans that I can't reveal now but that will make sense in the future. It's one of those stages in life where you're about to make a big step so you have to prepare and build courage to be brave and be prepared. My heart has been filled with hope.

This pursuit of lightness in my life has me contemplating what it means to live lightly yet meaningfully. In that spirit, I'll close with these words from Huxley:

"It's dark because you are trying too hard. Lightly child, lightly. Learn to do everything lightly. Yes, feel lightly even though you're feeling deeply. Just lightly let things happen and lightly cope with them. I was so preposterously serious in those days… Lightly, lightly – it's the best advice ever given me…So throw away your baggage and go forward. There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet, trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair. That's why you must walk so lightly. Lightly my darling…"

— Aldous Huxley, Island, 1962