Channing Tatum's character in the movie, Leo, speaks about impact moments. Those times in your life when something happens, or you make a decision, that shapes who you are. The inevitable question that is raised, then, is what happens if you can't remember those impact moments?
For his wife, who loses five years of her memory after colliding with the windshield during a car accident, not remembering those impact moments means that she wakes up a different person than she was before the accident. She cannot remember the past five years of her life, and all of the decisions that she made during that time, in her mind, have not been made. She has not been shaped by those decisions, or by their effects.
Beginning to homeschool was an impact moment for me. Obviously, it changed my life and everything that comes after in a very basic way. But it also changed the way that I look at the world. When I decided to not allow the straight A, overachiever inside of me to control my life, I started wanting different things out of that life. On a daily basis, I am responding to situations differently than I would have before. I am becoming a different person than I would have been if the road had branched off in another direction. If I were to wake up with no memory of this latest decision, would I be the person who I was before it, instead of the one who I am now?
I believe, wholeheartedly, that life should be an adventure. We should make decisions based on love and curiosity, not fear and external pressure. In a grand life, in a life well-lived, there are many, many impact moments. The road branches off so many times that the original path is lost, yet life still maintains focus and direction. Everything happens the way that it was always meant to.
What is one recipe for an impact moment? Deciding to question the statements that no longer make sense, the ones that we have heard so often that they seem to be unbreakable rules, despite the fact that, when questioned, they don't make sense anymore.
What I want for myself, and for you, is this: dare to live a beautiful life, an adventurous life, a life that is unplanned and open to spontaneity, but still focused around what really matters to you. If ever you shall find yourself thrust into a windshield on a snowy day, and wake up with significant brain trauma, at least the past few years of your life will have been worth remembering. At least they will have shaped you in some way that is a shame to forget.
(Photo via Teen.com)
I really want to see that :)
ReplyDeleteI had read some bad reviews before going, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! There is one scene when Paige is talking to her mother outside of the house (you'll recognize it when you see it--I don't want to give anything away) that was so sad and beautifully-done.
DeleteI hope you like it when/if you go to see it!