I’m not too proud to tell you...
I cried during the Avengers...
(SPOILER)
I won’t tell you who, in case you haven’t seen it, but when he dies...
Yes I know it’s a movie...
Yes I know they are super heroes...
Sure I know he didn’t really die...
Yes I know the plot is like all others... bad guy comes, bad guy seems unbeatable, bad guy gets beaten by the good guys...
And,
I cried when he dies...
and yes, my boys laughed...
But then I was thinking... movies are like life...
We know the general story line... life kicks you in the butt, we succeed and we fail, we make some dreams come true... typically not all... then we die...
Life is a ride... it’s a journey... it’s an experience...
Like a thrill ride at an amusement park...
Like a movie...
So often, I see people living their lives much like they watch a movie... as spectators.
”Life” is on the screen, and they are sitting back eating popcorn while the movie plays...
People come in and go out...
People hurt or celebrate...
Heck real people die... and I see folks just sitting in the audience, waiting for the next scene...
I want to cry at movies...
I want to cry at life...
Because I also want to laugh, and celebrate...
I don’t live my life or watch movies sitting in the audience...
I want to experience it...
Its probably why I love almost every movie I’ve ever seen, every play and musical.. .
I don’t evaluate it as an audience, I try to experience it as a human being... I become pet of the story... at least I try to.
My cousin took me to a play in December... something about a band... it’s the story of a band from somewhere in the Middle East that ends up in a small town in Egypt or somewhere by mistake...
The musical was called, “The Band’s Visit”...
Sone of the folks that went were really disappointed because the musical wasn’t as “grand” as they expected...
I loved it... I became a traveler in that little sleepy Arab town... I could relate to the old Capn’ and his struggles in life and with self awareness, with the young ambitious band member dreaming of making his mark on the world... with the working mother frustrated by her husbands lack of ambition... with the comfort and limitations of the known and the thrill of the unknown...
so.. .
yes...
I cried during the Avengers
because death is always sad
and for just a moment ...
I was a wounded soldier on that field...
and I felt for his wife and young daughter who would live a life without his senae of humor, personality and presence...
and it was real... it was the end of a character that had brought joy and laughter and inspiration to our family... we had bonded watching him grow...
and I thought of this guys life... he had achieved so much as an actor... despite what many had predicted... He overcame and evolved as a human being so much...
I was sad and I was happy...
Sure,
its just a movie...
and for a moment... in the moment...
it was part of my life...
and it moved me...
Don’t just sit in the audience...
Experience every moment,
in harmony,
Nestor