It's never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be.
There's no time limit.
Start whenever you want.
You can change or stay the same.
There are no rules to this thing.
We can make the best or the worst of it.
I hope you make the best of it.
I hope you see things that startle you.
I hope you feel things you never felt before.
I hope you meet people who have a different point of view.
I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you're not, I hope you have the courage to start it all over again.
There's no time limit.
Start whenever you want.
You can change or stay the same.
There are no rules to this thing.
We can make the best or the worst of it.
I hope you make the best of it.
I hope you see things that startle you.
I hope you feel things you never felt before.
I hope you meet people who have a different point of view.
I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you're not, I hope you have the courage to start it all over again.
- Eric Roth screenplay
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Like most Americans, I love a good movie. Stories that are driven by dialogue, characters and timeless themes are usually my favorite, films that offer something much more than shallow messages. To say the least, when I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button I was not moved. I found that tale to be merely a tale like Forest Gump, a good story with nothing to take away. While others in my party gleaned much more and found a deeper, more profound meaning, I was left in the dust of popcorn and sticky floors. It took me several days until the message finally settled into my mind. Talking it over with loved ones, I finally discovered the power of the film. As Roth wrote in the above quote, Benjamin Button is about so much more than a novel story. It is about life, death and living well, things people have sought since the beginning of time. Living life.
Oftentimes when I encounter older people, they ask me what I want to do with my life. When I tell them my dreams and goals they look at my quizzically. I receive questions like, "Why don't you become a lawyer, engineer or businessman?" While money and a steady job is alluring, I would rather live my life in pursuit of a passion. "Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred." This Proverb could equally apply to vocational desires, for I believe it is better to live meagerly yet complete than to live in wealth with bitterness. Although it can be very nice, money is not the thing that should be a goal in life. Living a lifestyle of mass consumption of infotainment and purposeful purposelessness should be far from us. The central message the movie conveys is that at the end our life, we should be able to look back on our lives and know that it was lived well.
While we live in a culture that is obsessed with youth and adamantly shuns old age, I must take a different position. Benjamin Button shows how growing younger is not an ideal process. It is OK to grow old and to age gracefully, to obtain wisdom and embrace the natural cycle of life. Ponce de León's fountain of youth is not obtainable. While everlasting youth is not feasible, living life well is always within reach. As Roth reminds us, it is never too late to change your life's trajectory and become a different person. Of course it is harder as one ages, it is certainly not impossible. As we are told in Revelation, "whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." Now is the day to change. Now is the time to live well and to live life to the fullest capacity.
Oftentimes when I encounter older people, they ask me what I want to do with my life. When I tell them my dreams and goals they look at my quizzically. I receive questions like, "Why don't you become a lawyer, engineer or businessman?" While money and a steady job is alluring, I would rather live my life in pursuit of a passion. "Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred." This Proverb could equally apply to vocational desires, for I believe it is better to live meagerly yet complete than to live in wealth with bitterness. Although it can be very nice, money is not the thing that should be a goal in life. Living a lifestyle of mass consumption of infotainment and purposeful purposelessness should be far from us. The central message the movie conveys is that at the end our life, we should be able to look back on our lives and know that it was lived well.
While we live in a culture that is obsessed with youth and adamantly shuns old age, I must take a different position. Benjamin Button shows how growing younger is not an ideal process. It is OK to grow old and to age gracefully, to obtain wisdom and embrace the natural cycle of life. Ponce de León's fountain of youth is not obtainable. While everlasting youth is not feasible, living life well is always within reach. As Roth reminds us, it is never too late to change your life's trajectory and become a different person. Of course it is harder as one ages, it is certainly not impossible. As we are told in Revelation, "whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." Now is the day to change. Now is the time to live well and to live life to the fullest capacity.
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1 comment:
I think the reason you didn't leave feeling emotion maybe on the part of how the movie was made. I haven't seen it yet. Actually I just downloaded it on my iphone to read. I Agree with you because I see my outlook this way. I loved working at GameStop for next to nothing because it was a fun and rewarding job. I got to help people and get them to understand certain games. It is true this day and age that some of the words that leave us sound like jibberish. I just like to think we are ahead of the curve. How hard and strenuous must it have been to be a apostle after Jesus left our world. People looking at you like you took to many blows to the head. The church saying you must be drunk and to cast you out. This has racked my brain over time. But like you said I think we can start a new or make a change. I do it everyday. Daily my cross I bear I think of what I should do better. Good post sir. I love the fountain of youth link, I was taken back to 5th grade again. Man I miss learning about the explores.
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