I, like 99% of Americans am bracing for my post-holiday diet. This will include all the dis’s – discipline, discomfort, and disappointment that I let things get so out of hand.
I’ve been eating like a bear preparing for hibernation. But it’s not only food that’s been filling me up. With all the new holiday releases, we’ve had a bunch of titles on our “want to see” list.
We saw three movies over the past couple weeks and they filled me up in different ways.
In all three the main character faced pain, conflict, drama, and intense challenges.
I thought that all three were compelling stories well-told on the screen.
One left me sleepless – tossing and turning trying to process why I felt so sad and heavy from the watching.
The other two, although very different from each other, left me informed and inspired. I walked away feeling stronger, more resolved to live a better story.
As we discussed the first movie around the dinner table I said I didn’t like the main character much. I didn’t like her values or her language. Mostly I didn’t like the lack of redemption or the trajectory of her life I saw. As I said this I probably sounded like uptight “Movie Mom” but it was honestly what I felt.
My twenty-somethings responded that this is real life. This is the way most people live and talk.
Well, yeah, of course it is. I get that. And I see value in authenticity and exposing ourselves to truth that may be hard to watch because life is sometimes hard to watch. We need to understand a world where not everyone grows the way we’d like them to.
But here’s the thing. I aspire to something different than most of the “real” world. Continue reading
