“You know what your problem is, it’s that you haven’t seen enough movies – all of life’s riddles are answered in the movies.” – Steve Martin
I don’t know that I agree with that entirely, but sometimes you do find enlightenment in a good movie, a great story, a book, song, a play, poetry – the Arts.
Today I caught an afternoon movie. It wasn’t a great movie, just a TV movie, but I became interested in the two main characters as one of them was a famous Soap Opera Actress who had abruptly left her career and come “home”. Of course, she was dying and had cancer. Oh boy. But the scene that struck me most profoundly was her best friend, who was like her sister, walked into her room where she had just torn a page from her diary, folded it up, and placed it in the nightstand drawer, where there were a pile of more such pages. She told her friend that when she had gone to NY she wrote in her diary everyday. As she was reading it now she found it full of inconsequential worries and events, annoyed with all the things she felt was wrong with her life. She then looked at the drawer and said her life seemed full of nothing but regrets.
How horribly sad. All I could think of was why wasn’t the drawer full of all the wonderful things in her life, all that she accomplished. I understood she was taking a hard look at her life and what was important, but I found it terribly sad.
Toward the end of the movie as she was nearing her end she had gathered up all the folded pages in the drawer and told her friend she realized that there was no way a person could live a life without regrets, it was impossible. That it was a waste of time to think of her life in terms of regret. THANK GOD!
She then asked to go outside and look at the stars and as the scene changed it focused on a nice fire outside with the pile of folded up regrets burning on top of the logs while they lay under the stars talking of what was important in their life – it was the people. Those who love you and those you love. That’s all that mattered. Sniff.
We have loved, lost, succeeded, failed, fallen and risen – we have LIVED! If we knew the outcome of events or decisions in our life beforehand, it would be uninteresting, lack challenge, and in a word, be incredibly dull. There would seem to be no point if we didn’t have games to play, obstacles to overcome, challenges to engage in, problems to solve. Granted, there are times where I could do with a little less challenge, but you get the idea. Utopia is not the end game, but the journey, what we work toward but never attain nor expect to. It is that journey that makes up our life and experience. It’s not perfect. It’s not supposed to be.
Maya Angelou is credited for saying this quote below, but she actually isn’t the first to say it. Whoever said it, hit the nail on the head. If you lived your life by only this it would be a worthwhile, successful life, and you would be someone worth knowing. – In my humble opinion.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
You know when we make statements like, “everyone should have to…” fill in the blank. Mine is everyone should have to read and discuss Sir Thomas Moore’s UTOPIA. It challenges your thinking about a socially perfect society or world. It helps to put our social conscience into perspective and good use.
And, oh by the way, YOU totally exemplify the quote.
You have the most honest and lovely reputation amongst those of us who have this shared understanding with cancer and Multiple Myeloma. We love you Susie! Thank you for all that you do and for how you make us feel loved and important.
Ohhhh, I like that Susie! The Tapestry and the stitches. Lovely!
Hugs!
Yes indeed Lori, life with a capital L forming it’s rich tapestry. Sometimes hard to see the pattern forming but such fun to make the stitches, large or small.
Mayo Angelou’s words are just perfect and I have tried so hard to follow this ‘pattern’ upon hearing them some years ago.
Blessings and peace dear lady x