This past weekend, in an effort to procrastinate and not do the things I really needed to do, I plopped myself on the couch, poured a glass of red wine and watched the movie, "Serendipity". I have seen this movie title on the guide pages of the television for years, probably, but never slowed down enough to watch it.I'm so glad I did.
If you haven't seen it, basically the movie revolves around the belief of "Fate"...which I totally get. It's one of the things I say when something happens that can not otherwise be explained. "Fate!", I'll proclaim, every time, to the amusement of whoever is with me.
This happens to me with one person more than any other in the world. However, it is such a regular occurrence in my life that to ignore it would be ignorant.
You have to have your eyes, ears and mostly your heart and soul open to recognize fate. It's not for the unimaginative, the heartless or the skeptics.
On the flip side...It IS for the passionate, the lovers and most of all...the dreamers.
The first thing that caught my attention at the beginning of the movie was when one of the characters defines the word 'serendipity'. Wikipedia says it is "the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely unrelated."
I love that. So often we go out searching for what we think is going to fill some emptiness or void in our lives only to be lead in a totally different direction. Fate.
Something else that spoke to me in the movie was a quote by the Greek philosopher Epictetus. It goes like this: "If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.” Amen!
Our lives are not to be lived by the definition of what others may refer to as "risky" or "dangerous" or yes, even "stupid". It is this exact thought process of being "thought foolish and stupid" that sets the dreamers apart from those who are scared.
That used to be me. Scared. Not that I'm totally a changed person, but enough to recognize the difference in how I was and how I want to be. And I want to show my kids who they can be and how you go about getting there. Now I may not fancy myself a dreamer just yet, but I'm getting there. How do I know this? I'm letting my thought processes go places they never have dared to go before. It's liberating.
Dream it. Do it. Live it. Love it.
So Epictetus...here's to being thought foolish and stupid. And for those who don't 'get' the choices of the dreamers, that's okay. After all - You have the great opportunity to write your own rules, goals, dreams. Our loved-ones get the "dreamers" in us. And if they don't...well then, have heart. Tell them why you're dreaming the dream you are. And guess what? They may totally jump on board. If not. It's your dream anyway. They don't have to jump on board in order for you to make your dream come true. However, the more they see your dream coming to fruition, it may awaken the dreamer in them. Don't be quick to judge. In fact, just stop judging.
So one more from ole Epictetus: "The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best." I mean really, we learned that in Kindergarten. Right?
And because I haven't ended in song in awhile...Don't go back, don't give up, don't pretend. Enjoy...
Something else that spoke to me in the movie was a quote by the Greek philosopher Epictetus. It goes like this: "If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid.” Amen!
Our lives are not to be lived by the definition of what others may refer to as "risky" or "dangerous" or yes, even "stupid". It is this exact thought process of being "thought foolish and stupid" that sets the dreamers apart from those who are scared.
That used to be me. Scared. Not that I'm totally a changed person, but enough to recognize the difference in how I was and how I want to be. And I want to show my kids who they can be and how you go about getting there. Now I may not fancy myself a dreamer just yet, but I'm getting there. How do I know this? I'm letting my thought processes go places they never have dared to go before. It's liberating.
Dream it. Do it. Live it. Love it.
So Epictetus...here's to being thought foolish and stupid. And for those who don't 'get' the choices of the dreamers, that's okay. After all - You have the great opportunity to write your own rules, goals, dreams. Our loved-ones get the "dreamers" in us. And if they don't...well then, have heart. Tell them why you're dreaming the dream you are. And guess what? They may totally jump on board. If not. It's your dream anyway. They don't have to jump on board in order for you to make your dream come true. However, the more they see your dream coming to fruition, it may awaken the dreamer in them. Don't be quick to judge. In fact, just stop judging.
So one more from ole Epictetus: "The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best." I mean really, we learned that in Kindergarten. Right?
And because I haven't ended in song in awhile...Don't go back, don't give up, don't pretend. Enjoy...
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