I just saw the movie, Reign on Me. It's the movie with Adam Sandler, and Don Cheadle (the dude from Hotel Rwonda). I won't say it's what i expected....but it was incredibly moving for the later half. It goes out with a bang, and definitely leaves an impression. "Only love can make it rain"...It's part of Pearl Jam's song, the one featured in the movie trailer....it is very fitting. It leaves a sense of chaos, a sense of pain and suffering...and a man trying to work through it; a pain that's haunted him most of his life.
I wont ruin too much, simply that it was an amazing movie and i highly recommend you go and see it. Maybe I'm just a sap for movies like it...but it was a very moving movie. And if it touches your heart, it must be good, mustn't it?
It did approach a very important topic however...in our lives, people present us glimpses at problems that we too may believe they need help with. Hell, they may even truly need the help; but they need to be given room as well. Everybody is different, and must work things a slightly different way. Sometimes all a person needs is somebody to lightly hit a topic, and then relax. Somebody to make the topic...more approachable for themselves. Somebody to allow it to become real, without feeling the full weight in an instant.
Something i considered: we all go to school at some point in our lives, some people pursue it into college, some don't; but either way, we ourselves must apply it. It's easy to walk in and learn things to perform on a test; but applying it to our lives, truly letting it sink in and become a part of us...that's much more difficult. it's simple enough to see the mistakes in another person's life...we don't have to make the changes. We as humans become set in our ways, and even if we seem to be making changes...they're chosen ones. Ones we're comfortable with. Then when the truly difficult stuff comes, we shrink away from the answers before us...sometimes even when a person gives us a perfectly applicable solution, we'll shy away. Why? perhaps it's pride, or stubbornness, maybe even shame; whatever it is, it's a battle that cannot be won until the individual accepts it. Sometimes after you've said what you wanted to, it's best to just move onto relaxing and having a good time. Sometimes it's time to talk about yourself so the other doesn't feel so oppressed...Life is a challenge. Nobody is perfect, nobody can be everything they want to be...but we can try. We can find those holes in ourselves and apply what we know, what we've learned...and see if we can make a difference in ourselves, in those around us.
Confucius wrote in The Analects, "When you come across a superior person, think of being equal to him. When you come across an inferior person, turn inwards and examine yourself". It's a simple enough statement...one i believe most people will agree to at face value; however almost nobody acts upon this with their daily lives. it isn't simply saying we're all equal; it's saying that when you see a person as less than you yourself are, you belittle them as a human, and your thinking is skewed...to be blunt. Their exist people of all sorts in this world, people of all varieties...retarded people, those who are disabled, the elderly, the young, naive and stubborn people, leaders and followers, troubled people and angry people; everybody has their own problems and demons to deal with, but we're all equal deep down inside. Some whom are retarded in speech, excel at mathematics; many who are disabled are more capable and resourceful than anybody who isn't disabled; leaders cannot play their role without the followers; and the stubborn must have naive people else they would likely kill themselves off.
It's a funny thing to say, but we as humans are born to be different. We are meant to vary from one to another, and it's our job to respect those differences. I've been cut off numerous times since I've been driving in the short time i have been...and I'll be honest, i can get pretty pissed about it. But honestly, isn't it slightly possible something serious has happened to them recently, and they're having troubled times?
I was driving down Antelope, a road nearby where i live, just off the highway; right off the bridge-way you pass a small little shopping center. As i was driving past, an asian lady in a sky-blue convertible bug pulled out and practically hit me. She saw me in time to stop before i would have hit her, and i'd slowed enough that i was crawling and she could've gotten to the light without us getting in an accident; but i was pretty upset. So i pulled up to the light (which was red), and stopped there. I looked back in my rear view mirror and saw her smoking a cigarette. At this point, i remembered that cigarettes are often relaxants for those who are addicted...and i wondered, why would she not look? it's definitely not normal for her or she'd have a messed up car. Could something be distracting her? Sure enough, i look back again and she's looking downward, her hand draped down from her forehead over her eyes. She isn't crying, but you can tell something is seriously bothering her. I thought now about why it is people these days are so closed off; why is it that we distance ourselves so much today from others? And then, a black man in a truck beside her said something. I'm not sure what was said, but it grabbed her attention and she looked up, smiling. They exchanged a few words and she laughed. It seemed a genuine laugh, she looked like a completely different person. I smiled. And i won't forget about them. That man was an incredible man; and i truly look up to him. I'm not sure i would have had the courage for such a thing, or even if i would have paid attention to the person beside me.
We don't know one another often times in this world, and yet we make assumptions and judgments based off actions. We often have zero understanding of what happened beforehand for this person, we don't know anything about their lives, their family, their job...and yet we criticize them for one wrong doing in our lives? We throw insults at them, despite them being unable to hear them? For what reason?
This world isn't about "Me me me", it's not about "you you you", it's about us. We're a community. Human kind is a community. We aren't meant to all be treated the same, we're not meant to have the same care as the next person, we're not meant to be held to anybody else's' standards...That's whether "we" are Brian (myself), Microsoft (a corporation), California (a large state), or even an entire country. Diversity exists, it's real, and it is good. But as humans, we have united aspects: We have problems, we desire to be something more, and we are social creatures who survive in balance with the things around us.
I wont ruin too much, simply that it was an amazing movie and i highly recommend you go and see it. Maybe I'm just a sap for movies like it...but it was a very moving movie. And if it touches your heart, it must be good, mustn't it?
It did approach a very important topic however...in our lives, people present us glimpses at problems that we too may believe they need help with. Hell, they may even truly need the help; but they need to be given room as well. Everybody is different, and must work things a slightly different way. Sometimes all a person needs is somebody to lightly hit a topic, and then relax. Somebody to make the topic...more approachable for themselves. Somebody to allow it to become real, without feeling the full weight in an instant.
Something i considered: we all go to school at some point in our lives, some people pursue it into college, some don't; but either way, we ourselves must apply it. It's easy to walk in and learn things to perform on a test; but applying it to our lives, truly letting it sink in and become a part of us...that's much more difficult. it's simple enough to see the mistakes in another person's life...we don't have to make the changes. We as humans become set in our ways, and even if we seem to be making changes...they're chosen ones. Ones we're comfortable with. Then when the truly difficult stuff comes, we shrink away from the answers before us...sometimes even when a person gives us a perfectly applicable solution, we'll shy away. Why? perhaps it's pride, or stubbornness, maybe even shame; whatever it is, it's a battle that cannot be won until the individual accepts it. Sometimes after you've said what you wanted to, it's best to just move onto relaxing and having a good time. Sometimes it's time to talk about yourself so the other doesn't feel so oppressed...Life is a challenge. Nobody is perfect, nobody can be everything they want to be...but we can try. We can find those holes in ourselves and apply what we know, what we've learned...and see if we can make a difference in ourselves, in those around us.
Confucius wrote in The Analects, "When you come across a superior person, think of being equal to him. When you come across an inferior person, turn inwards and examine yourself". It's a simple enough statement...one i believe most people will agree to at face value; however almost nobody acts upon this with their daily lives. it isn't simply saying we're all equal; it's saying that when you see a person as less than you yourself are, you belittle them as a human, and your thinking is skewed...to be blunt. Their exist people of all sorts in this world, people of all varieties...retarded people, those who are disabled, the elderly, the young, naive and stubborn people, leaders and followers, troubled people and angry people; everybody has their own problems and demons to deal with, but we're all equal deep down inside. Some whom are retarded in speech, excel at mathematics; many who are disabled are more capable and resourceful than anybody who isn't disabled; leaders cannot play their role without the followers; and the stubborn must have naive people else they would likely kill themselves off.
It's a funny thing to say, but we as humans are born to be different. We are meant to vary from one to another, and it's our job to respect those differences. I've been cut off numerous times since I've been driving in the short time i have been...and I'll be honest, i can get pretty pissed about it. But honestly, isn't it slightly possible something serious has happened to them recently, and they're having troubled times?
I was driving down Antelope, a road nearby where i live, just off the highway; right off the bridge-way you pass a small little shopping center. As i was driving past, an asian lady in a sky-blue convertible bug pulled out and practically hit me. She saw me in time to stop before i would have hit her, and i'd slowed enough that i was crawling and she could've gotten to the light without us getting in an accident; but i was pretty upset. So i pulled up to the light (which was red), and stopped there. I looked back in my rear view mirror and saw her smoking a cigarette. At this point, i remembered that cigarettes are often relaxants for those who are addicted...and i wondered, why would she not look? it's definitely not normal for her or she'd have a messed up car. Could something be distracting her? Sure enough, i look back again and she's looking downward, her hand draped down from her forehead over her eyes. She isn't crying, but you can tell something is seriously bothering her. I thought now about why it is people these days are so closed off; why is it that we distance ourselves so much today from others? And then, a black man in a truck beside her said something. I'm not sure what was said, but it grabbed her attention and she looked up, smiling. They exchanged a few words and she laughed. It seemed a genuine laugh, she looked like a completely different person. I smiled. And i won't forget about them. That man was an incredible man; and i truly look up to him. I'm not sure i would have had the courage for such a thing, or even if i would have paid attention to the person beside me.
We don't know one another often times in this world, and yet we make assumptions and judgments based off actions. We often have zero understanding of what happened beforehand for this person, we don't know anything about their lives, their family, their job...and yet we criticize them for one wrong doing in our lives? We throw insults at them, despite them being unable to hear them? For what reason?
This world isn't about "Me me me", it's not about "you you you", it's about us. We're a community. Human kind is a community. We aren't meant to all be treated the same, we're not meant to have the same care as the next person, we're not meant to be held to anybody else's' standards...That's whether "we" are Brian (myself), Microsoft (a corporation), California (a large state), or even an entire country. Diversity exists, it's real, and it is good. But as humans, we have united aspects: We have problems, we desire to be something more, and we are social creatures who survive in balance with the things around us.
