Couple of evenings ago I was watching an old movie on TNT called "Last Holiday", starring Queen Latifah. To be honest, the movie was not a mind-blowing, electrifying, phenomenal experience. It had humble objectives from the get go - entertaining you, warming up your insides, and generally making you feel good. Not bad way to spend an evening, I say.
The premise of the movie was straightforward. A modest, introverted lady named Georgia Byrd who works at a department store logs her dreams, wishes and desires in a book called "Possibilities. Georgia lives a simple, almost mundane life. She is waiting for that one big opportunity to knock at her door that would free her from her tedious, ordinary, unexciting existence and propel her into being a successful, desired and happy woman. What she gets, instead, is one rude shock. She is diagnosed to be suffering from a terminal illness with only weeks to live. In that eye opening moment, she realizes that she has yet to accomplish even a single item on her wish list. On an impulse, she withdraws her life savings, and takes off a vacation to a luxurious European hotel to live king size. Her personality takes a 180 degree turn. With nothing to lose, she trades her sober/boring outfits for stylish clothes, she opens up to people, trying to soak in every bit of experience before her days are numbered. Her genuineness, child-like enthusiasm and refreshing honesty manage to win several people's hearts. She makes new friends, pursues her hobby, does things she's never done before and generally lives life to her fullest. The cherry on top being proposed to by the guy who she's had a crush on for the longest time. Remorsefully, she realizes she has been a prisoner of her own mind all along. In a twist of fate, she is informed at the end by a very apologetic doctor that her illness was in fact, misdiagnosed and that she is completely fine. On getting a miraculous second chance, she makes a firm resolve to live life on her own terms, changing her book of "Possibilities" to "Realities".
The movie maybe predictable and corny, but it made me introspective. How many times do we let fear overrule the opportunities that knock at our door? Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of change, fear of unknown... To a certain extent, we've all been there, done that! Fear has the ability to cripple our mind, leaving us sad, anxious and lonely. There is no secret recipe for being successful. Sometimes the best way to break fear's vise-like grip on us is to take the plunge. All we need is an ounce of courage to break through the imaginary glass wall. When describing his skydiving experience on a talk show, Will Smith emphasized that "God placed the best things in life on the other side of terror". There may not always be a pot of gold waiting on the other end of the rainbow, but at least we will have a break through! We will be free to move on from whatever thing that held us back. You can always change directions and bounce back with new ventures, new avenues, new plans. Much like Georgia Byrd in this movie.
I leave you with a quote from a wise philosopher: fear is temporary, regrets are forever.
The premise of the movie was straightforward. A modest, introverted lady named Georgia Byrd who works at a department store logs her dreams, wishes and desires in a book called "Possibilities. Georgia lives a simple, almost mundane life. She is waiting for that one big opportunity to knock at her door that would free her from her tedious, ordinary, unexciting existence and propel her into being a successful, desired and happy woman. What she gets, instead, is one rude shock. She is diagnosed to be suffering from a terminal illness with only weeks to live. In that eye opening moment, she realizes that she has yet to accomplish even a single item on her wish list. On an impulse, she withdraws her life savings, and takes off a vacation to a luxurious European hotel to live king size. Her personality takes a 180 degree turn. With nothing to lose, she trades her sober/boring outfits for stylish clothes, she opens up to people, trying to soak in every bit of experience before her days are numbered. Her genuineness, child-like enthusiasm and refreshing honesty manage to win several people's hearts. She makes new friends, pursues her hobby, does things she's never done before and generally lives life to her fullest. The cherry on top being proposed to by the guy who she's had a crush on for the longest time. Remorsefully, she realizes she has been a prisoner of her own mind all along. In a twist of fate, she is informed at the end by a very apologetic doctor that her illness was in fact, misdiagnosed and that she is completely fine. On getting a miraculous second chance, she makes a firm resolve to live life on her own terms, changing her book of "Possibilities" to "Realities".
The movie maybe predictable and corny, but it made me introspective. How many times do we let fear overrule the opportunities that knock at our door? Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of change, fear of unknown... To a certain extent, we've all been there, done that! Fear has the ability to cripple our mind, leaving us sad, anxious and lonely. There is no secret recipe for being successful. Sometimes the best way to break fear's vise-like grip on us is to take the plunge. All we need is an ounce of courage to break through the imaginary glass wall. When describing his skydiving experience on a talk show, Will Smith emphasized that "God placed the best things in life on the other side of terror". There may not always be a pot of gold waiting on the other end of the rainbow, but at least we will have a break through! We will be free to move on from whatever thing that held us back. You can always change directions and bounce back with new ventures, new avenues, new plans. Much like Georgia Byrd in this movie.
I leave you with a quote from a wise philosopher: fear is temporary, regrets are forever.
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