Aug 25th, 2022 Thursday Cloudy
My husband and I just finished watching a thought-provoking Korean TV series – “hotel del luna”, depicting a special hotel where ghosts stay momentarily before departing for their afterlife. The owner of this hotel, Man Wol, has been harboring strong feelings – craving for love, resentment for being betrayed, and regret for seeing others die for her – for 1300 years, until Gu Chanseong, the guy destined for her, guided her onto the right path, truly letting go of the past.
While the two developed a deep love for each other over the course of the show, so much that Gu Chanseong chose not to drink the medicine that would take away his ability to see ghosts in the hope that someday he would meet the reincarnated Man Wol again, at the beginning of the story, he resisted as much as he could this supernatural power, the “gift” from Man Wol who was determined to make him the 99th hotel manager.
When the ending song was playing, my husband asked me this question, “if you could choose to be able to see ghosts, would you?”
I cannot say for sure, because – to begin with, I do not even know whether ghosts actually exist. Nevertheless, I think I would say yes. It would be an eye-opening experience. A brand-new perspective of looking at this world.
I would like to be able to talk to ghosts, especially if they abide the same rules as in the TV series, i.e., generally speaking ghosts cannot and must not hurt the living. That being the case, ghosts are nothing to be scared of (well, I may still get goosebumps if a ghost somehow drifts in front of me without warning…). Instead, there are a lot I could learn from them. What is it like to be dead? What is the biggest regret in their life? Since they are lingering on earth, do they have unfinished businesses? If so, what are they?
Is there a place that all ghosts will eventually go to? If so, what is it like?
When I leave this world some day, would I be able to meet once again, the ghosts of those I love in this life? Would we still recognize each other?
Unfortunately, these are questions that only ghosts, if they do exist, can answer. Any other answers we have heard are just theories with no evidence whatsoever.
Many gardens in Japan are crafted as a sacred place where one can communicate with the unseen world, be it god, an ancestor’s soul, or a ghost. I have no idea whether Japanese gardens in the US (like this one in Rockford, Illinois) could serve the same purpose, but I imagine that some ghosts may reside there – otherwise, where would they be? Halloween only happens once a year, after all.
Being able to see the ghosts would certainly change my worldviews, but there is a question that even ghosts cannot help me with: what is next? Will the ghosts move on after some time? If so, what is in store for them?
Will they retain ANY memory of this life at all?
It is mind-bogging and heartbreaking to believe that the answer could very well be no. All the deep connections and relationships that we spent years and years building in this life may all be dissolved when we pass away.
Let us cherish this life then. Let us savor every moment we have with those we love. However long we may enjoy in this life, in the boundless space and time it would feel all too short.