To err is human, to forgive divine

A very famous quote by Alexander Pope in 1711 and three centuries later those words are still very valid. Everyone makes mistakes, it is human nature. However, forgiveness of others and especially of oneself is very difficult. I openly admit to making plenty of mistakes and missteps in my lifetime. I often speak before thinking and tend to be quite overly-passionate. I often come across to others as harsh and cold, but I assure you, I am neither. In fact, one of my biggest flaws is that I often have too much emotion. I may not show those feelings in a conventional way, but I assure you I am a very sensitive person.

To those reading this that I may have offended or hurt over the years in one way or another, I do apologize. I usually know when I have said or done something wrong immediately after it happens. However, it is often too late to erase the situation and the only thing left to do is apologize. I understand it is often difficult to accept one’s apology and even harder to give complete forgiveness to someone. We have all been hurt, and forgiveness is a way to leave yourself vulnerable to possibly get hurt again. I am sure by this point in our lives; every one of us has been hurt in one way or another by several friends, family members, acquaintances and strangers. As a result, we build up apprehensions, walls and defense mechanisms to protect ourself from being hurt again.

I do find it difficult to forgive someone who has wronged me, especially if it was done intentionally. I find it even more difficult to forgive myself for things that I have done or said in error throughout my lifetime. I am my harshest critic and no one could beat me up as much as I have over the years. However, I cannot dwell on the past and on the errors of my ways, because that would only ruin today and the chance I now have to do things correctly. This quote that I wrote is very much how I am trying to navigate my life: You cannot change the past, but changes you make in the present can change your future. I believe I am a story in the making, an unfinished product, with still a lot to learn and improve upon. We all are.

I feel like I share an awful lot on these blogs, yet I cannot tell if anyone is reading. I encourage you to leave a comment or take a poll, just so I know someone has been here. Otherwise, I am going to assume you are all a bunch of voyeurs…lol :)

Eat, Drink, Sing, Meditate, Love

Ok, so I removed ‘Pray’ and added ‘Drink’ and ‘Sing’, seems more suitable to me. I wasn’t planning on seeing the movie, Eat, Pray, Love, starring Julia Roberts, but I ended up going with a friend on a spur of the moment outing. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the film and also at how much of the film pertains to my life. Based on a personal memoir of Liz Gilbert’s international quest for self, love, food, and the one word to describe herself, the film was quite entertaining. It was in no way the best film of the year, but it delivered some interesting messages in an entertaining way.

I think everyone can relate to either having her heart broken or breaking someone else’s heart along the way. The fear of putting yourself out there in a relationship and being vulnerable to someone else is a very scary proposition. Julia’s character, Liz, comes across as cold and heartless for parts of the film, often leading men on. She has no problem starting a relationship with a man, having sex, living with him for a while and then suddenly telling him she doesn’t love him or want to be with him any longer. In many ways, Liz behaves like a stereotypical man, perhaps out of fear of getting hurt. Regardless, the film delivers the message that it is better to put yourself out there than to shelter yourself from possible pain. If you never take any risks in life, how are you ever really living? Also, a big message in the film is to allow yourself to forgive yourself for past indiscretions, which is a very difficult thing to do. The film also made me realize that I would like to travel to Europe, particularly to Italy to enjoy some of its delectible cuisine. Also, I really need to follow through on my promise to myself to meditate; it is a great way to be centered and to really be present in the moment. I still do not know what my word would be…I guess I will keep searching.

INCEPTION

Well, I finally saw the movie Inception and it was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. Not only were the special effects phenomenal, but the storyline was unique and intriguing. Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the best actors of our generation and Ellen Page is one of the best up-and-coming actresses of the next generation. The film is not only entertaining, but also thought-provoking. Since the film contains many dream sequences and dreams within dreams, and as the characters struggle to remember what is real and what is a dream, it makes one ponder whether what we think is real life, is merely a dream. How do we know this is really happening? Are we dreaming right now? Are we a figment of someone else’s subconscious mind dreaming? How do we really know the truth?

There are two interesting notions brought up in the film. First, no one remembers the beginning of a dream. When we dream, we are suddenly in a school, a house, a building, but the dream never explains how we got there; much like life itself, on both the individual and collective levels. Each of us certainly does not remember when we were born. We don’t recall the first few years of our life. Instead, we merely take someone else’s word on it or see it through pictures, but we do not remember how we actually got into this world, how our life began. If we cannot remember how it began, is this merely a dream? On a larger scale, humanity in general has only theories as to how life began; no one really knows or remembers. Like a dream, there is no tangible beginning. Second, in the film when one dies in a dream, they wake up in real life. Does this mean that it is only when we die in this world, that we wake up to what is truly reality? Are our concepts of heaven and the after-life, actually real life and this which we call life, is merely a dream that we are waiting to wake up from? How do we know? As you can see, this film brings up many questions surrounding what is real and what is not. At least that is what I got out of the film. I highly suggest that you see this film. If for nothing else, because of the amazing special effects.