Life At The Movies

 I went to the movies the other night with a friend. It was a film I’d been anxiously awaiting to see for some time. After settling in my seat, the lights went down, and the movie began. It wasn’t until a while later - when my friend laughed and nudged me for some popcorn - that I realized I’d forgotten all about her and the theater I was sitting in. It was as if I’d been drawn into a kind of trance and suddenly I snapped out of it. I was so engrossed in the story I was watching on screen that I forgot all about what was happening around me. 

I started watching the movie again. This time I decided to try an experiment and look from a different perspective. I resolved to take a step back and remain consciously aware that I was sitting in a theatre watching a movie, and not allow myself to get sucked into the movie trance like I had before. What I realized as I sat there, was that I watching of a series of still pictures of actors in costumes pretending to be characters written by a person who made up a story that was being directed by another person. I was entranced by an illusion! However, it all happened so fast and was so compelling that I kept getting drawn back into the movie again and again, forgetting it wasn’t real. 

I started thinking about how much being at the movies is like life. We are all creative artists, making movies in our heads every second that tell us the story of our lives. We are actor, writer, director and producer all rolled up into one person. So much of the time, though, the movie we make is so engrossing that we forget it isn’t reality. It’s just our perception. It’s a story we’re making up.

What happens is this. Your body has five senses that are constantly telling you about the world: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. Your brain ‘makes sense’ of all this information by putting it together in the form of a little movie and, voila, you experience your reality. 

In life, the real magic happens when you remember that you are always creating a story in your head based upon your perceptions, and it’s just that and nothing more. It’s a little movie telling you a story about your experience of yourself and the world. The story isn’t ‘true’, rather it’s just your perception at the moment. The beautiful thing is that if you don’t like the story you’re making you can realize it, change it, and start experiencing another movie.

The challenge is in remembering. Just like my experience in the movie theatre, we tend to get so caught up in our stories, so entranced in our daily dramas, that we forget we’re the one’s writing the script that we’re playing out!

As I sat in the theatre I suddenly recalled my father. I remembered when I was a little boy I wanted to go see the movie ‘Jaws’. My father didn’t want to take me because he knew it would probably scare me too much. I kept at him and finally we went. We sat together in the theatre and it wasn’t long before I was so scared I was ready to cry. Rather than us leaving, my dad simply turned to me and said, “Remember, it’s just a movie.” I tried it and it worked! I found that I could watch the movie without any trouble. 

Whenever I started to get scared I would say to myself, “Remember, it’s just a movie.” After that, I was fine. In fact I really enjoyed myself.

Sometimes our habitual way of seeing things gets us caught up in a movie drama that doesn’t serve us or our highest fulfillment. Remember, you always have a choice. No matter what, you truly are the one who has control over how you see things. You are free to choose any way of looking at yourself and the world around you. The next time you’re having a ‘bad’ day, stop for a moment, take a step back, and remember, it’s just the movie you’re making about your day. What kind of movie is it? What’s the story? What’s the theme? Is it the kind you really want to be experiencing? The simple truth is that as long as you choose to stay stuck watching a habitual ‘bad’ movie that’s the reality you’ll be experiencing. 

Once you realize that you have freedom to choose, you can make any movie you like. 

 In what ways can you ‘re-direct’ your movie so your perception changes? Remember you were born to play the role of your life. Do you want to play the victim, the villain, the hero? You can decide to make the film into something positive, powerful or even profound. Change the message. Maybe it’s a drama about how to find strength in adversity. Maybe it’s a thriller where anything can happen and you are anxiously awaiting the next amazing thing right around the corner. Maybe it’s a comedy where everything seems to be going wrong but it all works out at the end of the day. 

I had gone to the movies that night to escape and get away from a really ‘bad’ day. Yet, my experience sitting in the theatre brought me back home to my life in a very personal and intimate way. It made me realize the lousy movie I’d been making all day. In fact I had walked in the theatre with it playing! However, when I left, I was playing a completely different movie.

Remember you have the power to change your perceptions and the way you see things at any time. Remember, it’s just a movie. You never know what the next scene may bring. The truth is that life is meant to be lived. The movie you choose to watch it as is up to you. So what do you choose?