A good friend once gave me an analogy when it comes to learning and growing. So, imagine that you are standing on a mountain and it has a really great view. You look out around and see the beautiful sunset and realize how great it is to be on the mountain and how you can see so much more then you could before, when you were at the base of the mountain. But then you notice behind you is a mountain that is pretty close by and it’s even bigger! So you think, “Wow, if the view is so great from up here, I bet the view will be even better up there.”
So you decide that you want to go stand on the bigger mountain. However, the only way to get to this mountain is to climb down the mountain that you are already standing on. So you begin to make your way down the mountain, which often times climbing down a mountain can be harder than climbing up (I am always much more likely to slip). With each step you take down the mountain you sacrifice some of the view that you once had. The more you descend the more beauty you sacrifice until you get to the bottom where you can hardly see anything.
And then you have to climb all the way up the other mountain. You know that it’s going to be better than the previous mountain, which is probably your only motivation to keep climbing. Although you also probably wonder why you ever got off the initial mountain in the first place. The previous view was fine and you would much rather be enjoying your time there than having to trek up this other mountain. But once you get to the top of this mountain you can see even better then before. It’s even more beautiful and you wonder why you wasted so much time on that other mountain. But you couldn’t have gotten to the tip of this mountain without climbing down the other one and then climbing up this one.
Sometimes in order to learn or grow, we must first unlearn what we already knew or break down what was previously there, in order to start something new. Is it possible that the way you have looked at everything before was wrong? You’ll never know unless you begin to take the things that you know, uproot them, and call them into question.
I tell this story because this is relevant in my life…I’ll explain the next time I write.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
My Blog
So, I have been writing for a while now but mainly just saving my entries in a word document on my computer. I thought it might be time to start posting online. So here's something I wrote a few months ago:
I recently saw the movie It’s kind of a funny story starring Zach Galifanakis. The movie is about a 16 year old boy who checks himself into a suicidal ward for he is afraid that he might kill himself. He had been feeling depressed for a while but the moment he gets into the ward he regrets his decision and would rather go back on the outside.
There is one particularly memorable scene in the movie where the main character along with Bobby (Zach Galifanakis) sneak off to a gym located in different wing of the hospital in order to shoot some hoops. After they are done messing around they end up lying on the ground reflecting a bit on the afternoon and life in general.
Bobby begins to go over his life and how messed up everything is. At this point we have learned that he has an 8 year old daughter and an ex wife who belittles him to the likes of the age of their respective daughter. Bobby confides in the main character that he has tried to kill himself six times, can’t hold down a job, and is going to be homeless when he checks out of the ward. You can see through his thick beard and poor complexion that the opportune life he once had has all but diminished.
You can then see Bobby turn his eyes to the main character (Craig) as he begins his analysis of his friend. He tells Craig how he is cool, smart, funny, talented, and all the things that he has going for him. You can hear the respectful envy in his voice but even more you can see it in his face. And then Bobby says what I believe to be the most memorable line in the movie. He begins to say, “If I were you,” and then at that point you can see him search for the result of what Bobby would do if he were indeed Craig. You can see his mind come up with idea after idea of what he would do by the second. As if his mind starts with meet a girl, play an instrument, learn, study, create, build, laugh, dance, etc. It is as this point you see Bobby start to search for perhaps a more broad term to use such as set goals or spend time with friends, but what Bobby lands on is so pure. He finishes the line by saying, “If I were you, I would just live.”
The thing that Bobby would do if he had all of the opportunity that Craig has is just live. He would enjoy his life.
This makes me wonder which person I am. Am I the person who has thrown my life away and now needs to make the best of what I have? The person who is wishing that I had all of the opportunities of other people in the world? Wishing that I was talented, smart, funny, and cool? Or am I the person who has the ability to live, is smart, talented, funny, and cool and wishes that I had everything else?
I know what the answer is. I’m Craig. In ways we all are. We’re all wanting more things before we can truly live. What we never think about is what we would do if we were one step behind. We are always thinking about what we are going to do when we get one step forward. The truth is, everybody who is one step behind where we are, is thinking what they would do if they got to where we are.
I recently saw the movie It’s kind of a funny story starring Zach Galifanakis. The movie is about a 16 year old boy who checks himself into a suicidal ward for he is afraid that he might kill himself. He had been feeling depressed for a while but the moment he gets into the ward he regrets his decision and would rather go back on the outside.
There is one particularly memorable scene in the movie where the main character along with Bobby (Zach Galifanakis) sneak off to a gym located in different wing of the hospital in order to shoot some hoops. After they are done messing around they end up lying on the ground reflecting a bit on the afternoon and life in general.
Bobby begins to go over his life and how messed up everything is. At this point we have learned that he has an 8 year old daughter and an ex wife who belittles him to the likes of the age of their respective daughter. Bobby confides in the main character that he has tried to kill himself six times, can’t hold down a job, and is going to be homeless when he checks out of the ward. You can see through his thick beard and poor complexion that the opportune life he once had has all but diminished.
You can then see Bobby turn his eyes to the main character (Craig) as he begins his analysis of his friend. He tells Craig how he is cool, smart, funny, talented, and all the things that he has going for him. You can hear the respectful envy in his voice but even more you can see it in his face. And then Bobby says what I believe to be the most memorable line in the movie. He begins to say, “If I were you,” and then at that point you can see him search for the result of what Bobby would do if he were indeed Craig. You can see his mind come up with idea after idea of what he would do by the second. As if his mind starts with meet a girl, play an instrument, learn, study, create, build, laugh, dance, etc. It is as this point you see Bobby start to search for perhaps a more broad term to use such as set goals or spend time with friends, but what Bobby lands on is so pure. He finishes the line by saying, “If I were you, I would just live.”
The thing that Bobby would do if he had all of the opportunity that Craig has is just live. He would enjoy his life.
This makes me wonder which person I am. Am I the person who has thrown my life away and now needs to make the best of what I have? The person who is wishing that I had all of the opportunities of other people in the world? Wishing that I was talented, smart, funny, and cool? Or am I the person who has the ability to live, is smart, talented, funny, and cool and wishes that I had everything else?
I know what the answer is. I’m Craig. In ways we all are. We’re all wanting more things before we can truly live. What we never think about is what we would do if we were one step behind. We are always thinking about what we are going to do when we get one step forward. The truth is, everybody who is one step behind where we are, is thinking what they would do if they got to where we are.
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