1. Recommended by a good friend Megan;
2. Made by the producers of Love Actually; and
3. Featuring, also from Love Actually, the inimitable, dry-as-martini-but-with-a-twist, Bill Nighy.
You can therefore say that I was destined, or at the very least predisposed, to watch it. The movie is about an awkward young man who tries to find the right (actually any) girl and not having a lot of success. On his 21st birthday, his dad (Bill Nighy) explains that all the men in the family have the ability to go back in time to a particular moment and do something differently. He uses this to great and often comic effect, but soon realises that it can also lead to a lot of complications. Before passing on, his dad tells him that he lived every day twice. The first time ‘normally’ and the second time with focused attention – really being in the moment and trying to make a difference. The movie ends with a number of scenes from their lives and the son’s voice over explaining how he followed the advice for a while, but gave it up because he tries now to live every day as if it were the first and last chance.
Shortly afterwards, Husband found a word art vinyl which was thought to have been lost during the mini makeover. I ordered it some time ago, and was pleasantly surprised when I unrolled it and found the words below:
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Life is short
Believe in yourself
Laugh loudly
Love courageously
Live your passion
Let things go
Be awesome
Believe in yourself
Laugh loudly
Love courageously
Live your passion
Let things go
Be awesome
The movie and these wonderfully bold statements have one thing in common. You can only achieve this when you are really and truly present in every moment.
Incredibly simple, but not always easy. I would set out well enough and then Brain takes over, reminding me of the what-ifs, the not-good-enoughs, the fear-of-whatnots, all the while dragging me away from the blissful state of just-being-in-the-moment*. So I need to be reminded. Often sometimes.
Fortunately, if you stay open enough to recognise and accept it, the universe uses seemingly random events (or synchronicity according to Herr Jung)** to get us back on track.
For me then, the reminder is clear – let go, be present and live with gusto!
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* Quick sidebar, I am not saying that being in the moment precludes thinking or planning. It just means that you focus in every moment on what you are engaged in and not use your mind to wander away.
**Synchronicity is a concept developed by Carl Jung to describe a perceived meaningful coincidence. There are many further explanations of inner and outer experiences coinciding, but roughly translated I like to think of it as: “there is no such thing as coincidence – everything happens for a reason”.
