When life becomes uncertain, the ground beneath our feet shakes, and we feel lost, we often look to earlier times in our life for inspiration and support. We leaf through diaries and seek out testimonies from our unique history. The present loses its horror when viewed from broader perspectives. The shackled gaze is set free. What is personal also applies to humanity. There are the great stories and myths that reach far back and look ahead, similarly enabling the “unity of time.” In recounting their near-death experiences, those who stood on the threshold of death and went beyond it for a moment, describe how life presents itself as a panorama or tableau. In this vista, what had been successive becomes juxtaposed. From the sphere of the timeless comes the myth, whose in illo tempore—its “once upon a time”—lies outside of time and is constantly happening.1 Andrea Pfaehler, director of the upcoming Faust production at the Goetheanum, sums it up: “The play Faust is eternal.” She adds: “We can perform it because we ourselves come from and are going into eternity.”
Translation Laura Liska
Photo Xue Li
