Honest to Blog - About Time

I've been watching a bunch of movies lately as I have time off and am traveling South East Asia. During airport waits and flights I've had lots of down time to actually sit and enjoy films.

Amongst the titles I've watched are two in particular that I want to shout some praise for.

The first of which is About Time.

Truthfully, I had forgotten about this movie until it came up as a suggestion on my Netflix account.

Stumbling upon this I was sceptical but attempted to download it, and a few others, nonetheless. When my flight had taken off I went into my app and realised About Time was the only download that was complete so it was my only option.

I watched the movie and enjoyed the tale of a man learning that time travel is a shared secret among the males of his family - each of them being able to go into a dark space and clench their fists to go back to a point of their life that they envision.

This movie ends on a fantastically thought provoking monologue about How life is better lived in the moment than spent stressing over the past, or future.

Having watched About Time I've felt prompted to question how often I live in the past and have anxiety about the future.

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I think most of us can attest to being guilty of this.

How easy it is to spend each day with expectations which, if not met, can set the scene for an even more stressful day to follow.

It often feels as though our "to do" lists are miles long... But what about our list of what we're grateful for, or what makes us happy?

I mean, how easily we fall into the trap of seeing our lives as mundane and mediocre. Maybe you don't... maybe you are living a fulfilled life in which you praise each day for simply existing... But I am sure most of us have days where we struggle to even get through.

I suppose what I am saying is that I've felt challenged by About Time to be more present in my life, rather than just letting it wash over me while wondering in hindsight how I could have done things differently.

The real challenge of this is in fact switching up my perspective, a point beautifully illustrated through the recent film Mary Poppins Returns.

For those who have seen the original Mary Poppins I'm sure you thought one of two feelings toward the new one: either complete and eager excitement at the return, or utter skepticism that the role of Mary could be played convincingly by Emily Blunt.

I personally fell into the latter of these two mind-sets. I was entirely certain nobody but Julie Andrews could slay the role as the loveable nanny for the Banks children.

Fortunately, I was wrong!

As far as I'm concerned, Emily Blunt did an amazing job in filling the role of Mary Poppins.

If you loved the original and haven't already watched the 2018 film then I recommend you do!

The movie follows the story of the Banks children, however this time the Banks siblings are the offspring of Michael Banks and the film is set 24 years after the first film. As per the original, the Banks family are in need of a nanny. The position is filled by a magical nanny who teaches life lessons through the use of whimsical songs and adventures.

It's all a bit of nonsense really.

But even so, Mary Poppins Returns highlights the importance of shifting perspective. The characters, and audience, learn that listening to others thoughts and viewpoints can help to shape the whole picture that one may have.

Yeah!

Wow.

That is such a huge lesson!

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This is what I love about movies, music and books... they open up a platform for discussion and can help us to think about things differently.

I love a good story... But even more so when the essence of it is riddled with an opportunity for growth and learning.

Right now I am in Borneo, Malaysia. I have just spent a few days out in the Jungle exploring (while also being overly conscious of the fact that mosquitos and spiders are abundant!).

It's easy while kicking back and relaxing, or trekking through the Jungle, to be grateful for the life I have!

I don't say this to be self-indulgent but merely to indicate that although right now it is easy for me to think that my perspective can be swayed, in everyday life I often get so caught up trying to just get by that I don't think about the bigger picture.

In particular, the start of this year has seemed like one chaotic stress after another!

While in a state of mind where I feel relaxed and comfortable I can reflect on these past few months and see that perhaps the bigger picture has not always been visible for me... maybe a little more whimsical nonsense and living in the moment would help me to accept that things won't always be easy, relationships won't always be consistent and nor will most things in life... what can be taken from this is that even if things aren't going to stay the way we expect them to, we can learn to embrace the changes and adapt to them so that we aren't constantly fighting them!

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Take it from me, fighting for things to remain the way they once were is pointless.

Life is best lived accepting the in-between stages, embracing adventure and learning to live with change.

The more we can learn to accept things for what they are, or what they may become, the better off we will be.

I know.. I know..

That stuff always sounds like complete drivel... But I honestly do believe that if I had embraced more of the changes that had occurred this year rather than refuting them then I would be in a much better place mentally.

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Challenge: (to myself, and anyone who feels inclined to try it)

Live each day appreciative of what it has to offer.