Forrest Gump famously reminds us that his Momma always told him: "life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what your going get." True enough. Last night Forrest graced our home screen again and it is always obvious why this flick is on most people's Top Ten of All Time movies. The nuggets of wisdom seen through the eyes and experience of a simple man make it worthy, but it is the reflection on the timeline and the sound track that always pull me into the scenes as they smoothly transition through the 60's and 70's and 80's
Add in the lovely Robin Wright, who honestly portrays characters from farm girl to flower child to party woman; always the victim of abuse at the hands of the men in her life, except Forrest of course. This time I was struck hard at the moment they come upon her childhood home and with great emotion, Jenny throws her shoes and then anything she can find on the ground at the walls and windows of her past. Forrest realizes that "sometimes there's just not enough rocks" to end the pain and remove the scars of the events that shape our psychological demons.
The human experience includes so much yin and yang. It is assumed by so many cultures and creeds that this creates balance. The need for a positive attitude to force us onward through the good, the bad, and the ugly undoubtedly is a mind frame that have been conjured from the early days of cave dwelling. Humans had to learn to invoke mind games to survive the psychological and physical tragedies and losses of limbs and dead family members, young and old. Vicious wild animals, starvation, thirst, natural forces, disease, food poisoning and the other threats that have existed on this planet from the beginning of time can only be endured when the brain focuses on mental and physical survival.
As time marches on, the physical threat to existence on Earth has been tempered by modernization, medicine, and domination of the animal kingdom. So this leaves the harm done human on human. The traumatic events in our family, the name calling and bullying in the hallways of our schools, and the prejudice and bigoted hiring in the workplace make the reality of existence, and the anger so many build up through their life, makes way too many feel that "sometimes there's just not enough rocks."
Best post yet XOQ! It rings true that life seems so "easy" for us in our society compared to our ancestors. Our biggest concerns are "what's for dinner tonight?" or "what am I going to do for entertainment this weekend?" rather than "where will our next meal come from?" or "is it safe to even leave my home?" But, even in a world where we are at the top of the food chain and have the power to shape our world as we wish, we cannot as a species find a way to live peacefully and without contempt. Human beings are their own worst enemies in that we will always create strife where it does not naturally exist and we can always find a way to make things difficult, when really, the world is at our fingertips and it is our responsibility to live in peace and unity with each other.
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