My favorite movies are the films where
not much happens except for life itself.
They simply chronicle the way ordinary
time unfolds for people. The characters gently drift down a stream of
consciousness with no particular direction in mind, without the mechanics of a
plot, a dramatic three act structure, a formal narrative arc, an action packed
car chase or a predictably grandiose slow clap crescendo that wraps everything
up in tidy cinematic bow before the credits roll.
These movies feel
spontaneous. They flow with a nice naturalness. Like documentaries with
invisible cameras and no professionally trained actors.
That’s why they
resonate so deeply with people. Because they mirror real, authentic life. They
honor man’s search for exquisite ordinariness.
Which is especially refreshing
in culture where every thirty second advertisement chews up the scenery and
brutalizes its viewers with an onslaught of contrived melodramatic choreography
to sell another bullshit product they don’t need.
Look, there’s no doubt that
story are the tools that help human beings structure and interpret reality,
make sense of life and bring order to a world that is confusing and scary. The
human brain is psychological primed for narrative.
But if we spend too much
time disappearing down the rabbit hole of our own mythology, we lose sight of
the fact that in great movie of life, not that much happens. And when it does,
there’s no award winning audio engineer standing by to cue the orchestra.
Our
job, then, is to be open to the whole journey. To stay in step with the natural
rhythm of things. To gentle with ourselves when we get stuck. To trust that the
waiting part of change is necessary.
Beattie said it best in her book about the
journey to the heart:
The desert cactus that blooms briefly once a year doesn’t
consider all the moments it is not in bloom wasted. It knows that the rest of
the year is beautiful and important too.
Closure is an illusion. Life a collage
of disparate images pinned together less by narrative force than by states of
individual feeling.
LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Will you wait for life to reward you with a standing ovation, or accept its few quiet moments of truth?
LET ME SUGGEST THIS…
For the list called, “99 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur, Even If You Aren’t One,” send an email to me, and you win the list for free!
* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.
Never the same speech twice. Customized for your audience. Impossible to walk away uninspired.
Now booking for 2017-2018.
Email to inquire about fees and availability. Watch clips of
The Nametag Guy in action here!
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