July 9, 2023
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Jane Kristen Marczewski, also known as Nightbirde, died last year. She was 31. The emperor of all maladies, cancer, took her away.
A promising song writer, music composer and singer, Jane’s life displays indomitable human spirit, and how life can be lived to its fullest despite the knowledge of imminent death. Jane, during her last days, appeared in the talent show America’s Got Talent, and captivated the audience with her original song “It’s okay.”
The song too reflected the journey of Jane. She showed promise at a very early age. She was a popular singer in her local town during her student days. Later her songs became popular and topped music charts in many countries. She was almost unstoppable. But the fragility of human life struck her hard as she discovered that she has cancer. Her song, ‘It’s okay,’ reflects how the indomitable human spirit is entangled with the fragility of human life. She sang, ‘I was a stick of dynamite’ and ‘I’m a cannonball,’ reflecting the indomitable human spirit, but at the same time she reflected on the fragility of human life and sang, ‘…I knew myself but I guess I lied.’ Despite the hopes that she would live longer, the cancer reappeared and she had to withdraw from the talent show and after a few months she passed away.
One can also think of fragility of human life taking myriad shapes even when an individual lives longer. The average human lifespan is about 74 years. Medical science has increased the life span of human life, but it too has stumbled. It can not end all types of diseases, and more so it cannot provide a completely disease-free life. Not only that, new diseases continue to baffle medical science. For example, there was no disease called AIDS in the 1960s or 1970s. One could also think of coronavirus and its various mutations in this context. More so, the important question that needs to hunt thinking minds is that if human life is fragile, and if every human being must die one day, what are the ways to live life with its full beauty and dignity while reconciling with its fragile nature.
Jane’s song also reminds me of Sting’s song, ‘how fragile we are.’ These lines from this song are particularly relevant for our current argument: “…nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could…Lest we forget how fragile we are.” Sting in this song makes poignant reflections on the reality of human life. In another song, Sting expands his reflections on fragility and expresses concerns on global issues like the Cold War and arms race. He sings: “In Europe and America there’s a growing feeling of hysteria… How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer’s deadly toy?… There’s no such thing as a winnable war… We share the same biology, regardless of ideology…” Perhaps one could sing this song with equal force in this age of post-Cold War, in which fears of nuclear war are still alive.
What does Jane’s life teach us? It teaches optimism, and at the same time encourages us to live life with dignity and play one’s role on the human stage as best as possible. Swami Vivekananda’s message is relevant here. The Swami said that if you are on this world stage, you must leave an indelible signature, implying that while enjoying one’s life to the fullest, one must leave a mark of service and sacrifice that benefit future generations. Jane is dead and gone, but her song ‘It’s okay’ will live forever and inspire many generations. Jane, the human body, is dead, but Jane, the indomitable human spirit, is alive and inspiring us. She also teaches us that while recognizing the fragility of life, we must rise to the occasion and do our best with our limited energy.
This discussion brings me a larger philosophical perspective which the French philosopher Jean J. Rousseau articulated in the 18th century. Rousseau made a distinction between particular will and general will. Particular will is concerned with selfish interests of the individual, and it goads the individual to think about his wellbeing without any regard for the larger societal good. In contrast, the general will goads individuals to think about the wellbeing of the collective, of the society, and it encourages individuals to prioritize the good of the society over the good of the individual. If human life is fragile, death is destined, is it possible to rise above the particular will? Rousseau believed in affirmative and argued that only on the foundation of general will an edifice called state could be erected.
The untimely death of Jane not only saddens the music lovers all over the world, but also brings the message that one must recognize the fragility of life even if one thinks of oneself as a ‘cannonball.’ It also encourages human beings to explore the larger context of society, prioritizing the individual’s larger self over the narrow self.
