Be of Good Courage

On the flight back from France I watched "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". I loved it.

Film-wise, I found much to admire. First of all, who knew Ben Stiller had it in him to create a movie with such pathos or subtlety? And he had Jose Gonzalez do part of the soundtrack - I have respect for anyone with an appreciation for Jose. Just saying.

The beginning is white, gray, and blue (blue symbolizes loyalty, stability, serenity, and depression). The main character Walter lives in a world of straight edges at right angles where everything is sterile and careful. As the movie progresses, the action color of red is introduced - from the airplane, car, Papa John's cup (a catalyst), sweater, to the mountain gear he dons as he climbs the mountain for his guru encounter with the photographer. By the time he's in Iceland, your eyes can't drink in all of the color saturation and breathtaking scenery. You are carried along in the character development by all sorts of subtle details.

There are some zany moments, as evidenced by Walter's fantastical daydreams. However, they reveal how different our inner and outer selves can be. Our minds dream big, disregarding plausibility but we live cautiously. It shouldn't be like that. We should have balance between dreams and action.

You could say the movie is about many things. I'd say it is about an ordinary, nice guy who once had great dreams for his life. Along the way he met with misfortune, tragedy, what have you, and lost momentum, trying to find a way in this life. This is his journey of learning how to stop hiding and to actually live. All of his experiences are a reflection of the metamorphosis inside.

It's not that he changes into a new man. He becomes who he was supposed to be in the first place.

He doesn't use his liberation to run off, get a Porsche, and date a girl half his age. He keeps his head on his shoulders, cares for his family, and uses his new courage to go for the girl he liked all along.

I think we all have this same potential. We long for so many things! There is a way for us to transform some of our heart longings into real life. For Walter, things didn't turn out as he'd planned - they turned out far richer. If we do things for the right reasons, I'm convinced we'll find the same is true for us.

Let's have the courage to become our best selves.



p.s. I loved all of the cultural "encounters" Walter had. I teared up when he said he was alone at 18,000ft and when he played soccer with his new friends - I could relate. I giggled when he did the charades style sign language with the Nepalis.Venturing out shows how alone we can feel, how included we are, and how we can't take ourselves too seriously.