“We have nothing if not belief.” -Reepicheep, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (film)
Mark walked in the room and found me watching an epic/adventure film. Again. This time it’s some part of The Lord of the Rings series. He just laughs, “Needing inspiration again?” “Always.” I muttered, but I think he had already sauntered away. It’s true; I have been absorbing these types of films lately (mostly while folding endless mountains of laundry), somehow relieved by the concrete and tidy nature they bring to such large-scaled abstractions as loss, suffering, war, perseverance, and hope. These films bring perspective. Perspective that smacks of my human fragility and need. Perspective of conflict and war. And of course what I’ve need most of all, the reminder that we’re never alone, that we all at some point need the (wo)men on horseback with painted faces yelling, recounting our hope and requiring us to hold the line; we need those people around us to whisper belief into our ears when our face is planted in the weedy field of despair; and we need that cloud of witnesses to encourage us to finish the “race,” even if we’re crawling to get there.
Here’s an appropriate (not epic) video of just that.
[vimeo https://www.vimeo.com/34046413 w=400&h=225]The Finish Line 2 – Short Feature from Evolve Digital Cinema / IMG on Vimeo.
Comments
What a lovely thing to remember. Sometimes you’re within sight of Mordor, and sometimes you’re within sight of the bottom of the laundry basket… Sometimes it’s a whole audience cheering you on, sometimes it’s just one fat, tired hobbit.
Ha! Well said.
Just g l a d to be straining toward to the line -and further up and further in- with you, my friend.
joy
likewise, of course.