The Tree of Life

There are two ways in the world, Terrence Malick tells us in his new film The Tree of Life. The way of nature…and the way of grace (an old, old binary). Presumably, the way of nature is the way of impulse, of instinct, the chaos of creation, the way of the way things are. The way of grace is different. Grace is other-worldly. The forces everywhere clashing in a tangled weave of bedlam is exchanged for the supple benefaction of the power and the glory. Sharp light bends to the curve in a grace lit globe.

Love, or your life will fly by. Or so Malick suggests in another pithy phrasing. The imperative is an ominous one. And love is like grace. It is a choice, a way in the world. Love attunes us to our surroundings. Without love, those surroundings fade to the background. In loving, our lives, full of grace, gain contoured dimension. Love and grace, Malick seems to want to say, make our lives intentioned and intentional. In loving, our lives become vectors. And this is a meaningful existence, fecund with profuse dimensionality. All things shining.