What Will Smith Taught Me About Time, Love, and Death in 2020.
Time can effect the equilibrium of our current reality but how much is within our control?
My life is surprisingly more chaotic than I’d like to admit. The early onset of age-spots, stretch marks, and sporadic grey hairs where baby hair caressed my forehead. Aging is no longer an irrational fear that I learned to envy. This phenomenon prompts me to question the validity of my experiences. Do I lack the understanding of time due to my inexperience? Thankfully, wisdom has been bestowed upon me by my elders, who’ve taught me a thing or two about life, love, and suffering.
About a couple of weeks ago, I sifted through all my subscription services searching for a movie, preferably one I had previously seen. I was in a bit of a low place mentally, and I needed a film to diminish the intricately woven anxiety that annually presents itself when I least expect it. I craved a visually captivating film that would grant me the emotional release needed, though easy to follow through my hazy eyes and constant distractions. I settled with the 2016 film Collateral Beauty. Though with this re-watching, I felt differently about the film entirely. The sensory cortex of my brain activated the missing link to my consistent outlook on reality. With only twenty minutes into the movie, I noticed a recurring theme; time is the fabric of everything.
Parallel to Will Smith’s character, I’m not a fan of the unnecessary niceties in conversation, especially when dealing with a catastrophic loss or illness of some sort. The phrase “things get better with time” always prompts me to question the phrase’s validity. Though I can be a bit pessimistic when envisioning the future, equating a trauma of any kind alongside a linear healing model can cause irreversible damage. We are all striving for normalcy, whatever that may be. But what do we do when trauma begins working itself deeper into our working memory? For example, forcing newly diagnosed patients and families who’ve recently lost a loved one into a generic idea of happiness is quite demeaning. Living vicariously through others while dealing with unresolved trauma can cause the evolution of one’s journey to stop completely. Undoubtedly ignoring the task granted to us will transform our expanding relationship with time. Slowly resting in the unknown, finding healthy coping mechanisms, and reminding ourselves that the addition of love and loss is a natural occurrence; One that can not be extinguished by the slow burn of time itself.
In an ideal world, folks would be less resistant to vulnerability and more understanding of time’s ploy to awake the sleeping giant within us. The world’s fate relies heavily on the human population because without our contribution, how can time free us from ourselves? Our thoughts and emotions tether us to our past selves. But as time progresses, as will we. So if you haven’t watched Collateral beauty, I advise you to watch and see what it reveals to you. Time, love, and death may very well await you in the next room, but don’t allow your reservations about time hinder you from the life granted to you.
