Happy New Decade!

Posted By John Abdulla on Jan 2, 2011 | 3 comments

A new year. A new decade, even. What better time to blog! Well, I’ve been thinking about just what it is that I want to write. Thought about recapping the year, pulling out the lessons, and… well, you know how that goes….

But I just came back from seeing The Fighter and I’m not sure exactly how yet, but it seems totally appropriate to share my thoughts on this incredible film as a way of reflecting on the promise that a new year brings. For your sake, I hope I can avoid that late-night tendency to ramble….

I don’t want to recap the film or give anything away, for that would be unnecessary. Go see it. Please. Seriously, it is as good as I am making it out to be. Micky Ward’s story is one that will awaken something powerful from within you. There is just so much depth to the story; so many points to touch upon. Let me just extract and sum up one of the powerful themes: if you want something in life, you’re gonna have to fight for it. Sure, that sounds like a cliche (it is a cliche) but that doesn’t make it any less true and I have never seen a film so beautifully capture and express that message before as The Fighter has done. No matter how bad things get in life, no matter how much you’ve screwed up, there is always a way to climb out of it. How refreshing. What a great way to start off the new year!

I feel so completely blessed for the life that I’ve had; for the experiences, for the people, for everything. Even so, there is so much I want to do! So much I want to accomplish. And, well, life can be discouraging sometimes. Life can just get freakin’ busy. And sometimes that’s all it takes, getting sidetracked, feeling secure and comfortable; that’s all it takes to hide those ambitious goals. So many of my posts have talked about the importance of ‘checking-in’ with yourself. But I still forget to do it! Checking in with those ambitions, dreams, hopes – it is so important.

I’m starting this new year off full of optimism, ambition and drive. I think that’s an important combination. But hey, I’m still trying to figure out the recipe. What do I want to accomplish? Let’s see… I want to end global poverty. I want to send two young women in Afghanistan to medical school. I want to stop the war in Afghanistan. I want to stop war, period. I want to make sure no more children are ignored, neglected, starved, killed in the world. I want to shake things up, change the way I think and change the way other people think. I want to have more fun.  I want to read more and I want to watch more movies. I want to get in touch with more friends and stay in touch with more friends. I want to be a husband – a good husband! I want to buy a house. I want to grow in my careers as a filmmaker, an activist, a web designer, a writer. I want to make a movie as powerful as The Fighter.

And I want a lot more.

Am I expecting to get it all by the end of the year? Sigh….no, I guess I can be patient. I know, I know, it’s a shitload of stuff. Hey, if we can’t dream big, why dream at all? And by the way, as The Fighter so beautifully demonstrates, it can’t end there. The founder of my alma mater, Samuel Silas Curry, put it best, “Dare to dream, but be not an idle dreamer,”. And there you have it. That’s the way to start off a new year and a new decade.

Comments

comments