The first time I watched this 2007 movie I completely missed it's wisdom and grace. I mistakenly thought it was a children's movie. This story speaks to adults, older adults, lonely, lost and confused adults. It is a story about how to live life. It addresses how to care deeply and say good bye. I love this movie. Watch it again through the tired and even jaded eyes of an adult. Here is what you will find.
"Every one has potential." There are a few rare and wonderful people who don't see us for what we are but look at us and see us for what we can become. Living near one of these extraordinary creatures is like taking a breath when you come up from the deep. You can relax around them and stop apologizing. You can begin again, try on a new you. You can even fail in front of them because they will help to pick you up and remind you of all the potential within. Some people we are better with because they already know this about us. What a gift.
"Anything can happen." Before bills and sickness, sadness and betrayal we once realized this. We have forgotten. There is no set script for your life. Once you start down a path there is nothing that says you must stay with that course. You can turn around, you can explore a side option, you can go "off road." Anything can happen. Try something new, let the people in your life surprise you. Come to the realization that you don't have all the answers, you don't know what is best for others or maybe even for yourself. Smile at strangers, take a walk, talk to God. See what happens.
"Life is an occasion, rise to it." Life isn't just something to endure. It is an occasion that calls us to put our best foot forward. Rising to an occasion is an act of bravery. It takes tremendous courage to stand up and access the best parts of ourselves. Do you really have what it takes to engage in your own life? Have you been holding back, not really trying to live your best to keep up the illusion that you could do something spectacular if you wanted to? It can be a painful thing to try and fail, to miss by a mile or maybe worse, by an inch. But the rising may be more important than the getting. It is in the rising that we see what we are really made of and in doing so we make ourselves better. This isn't saying live an above average life. It is saying live your life in an above average way. Be extraordinary in the ordinary things.
And finally, wisdom for the end of life. "I am not asking you to be happy that I must go. I'm only asking that you turn the page, continue reading and let the next story begin. If anyone ever asks what became of me, you relate my life and all it's wonder. And end it with a simple and modest he died." Would that I could live my life and finish my life simply and modestly. Never to overstate my importance and never to understate yours.
