“You have to live spherically - in many directions. Never lose your childish enthusiasm - and things will come your way.”
- Federico Fellini
I put on "Under the Tuscan Sun" last night. I was looking for something inspiring and light. TV has been irritating me lately. It seems that every popular show or new release is so heavy in content or linked with issues that can be traumatizing (or re-traumatizing). I'm not saying that someone can't be triggered by this movie, because they can. There is a reason, after all, as to why she ends up in Tuscany.
One day, this whimsical woman enters the main characters life and shares the above quote. I'm immediately drawn to it. I think it fits nicely with what I tell clients. To be mindful about how they meet their physical, social, emotional, leisure, spiritual and mental needs. The importance of not overloading one area, neglecting the others. A sense of balance, while remembering balance isn't always allocating the same amount of time to each need. Life doesn't deplete our resources so neatly, after all.
I like the idea of growing in many directions. My mind leaps to another movie, "Centre Stage" (perhaps, some of you are starting to judge me on my flick choices... fear not, I'm well rounded!). In this movie, one of the main characters finds herself struggling at a prestigious ballet school. She was surprised by this as she had trained her whole life as a ballerina. It wasn't until she tried different dance styles, grew in different directions, that she was able to move forward as a dancer.
This makes me reflect on issues around identity. Sometimes, we get so tied into thinking of ourselves in only one way or in one particular light. You know, "the wife", "the student", "the jock", "the golden child", "the hockey player", "the smart one", "the pretty one", "the sick one", etc. We are so so so much more than just any one of these labels, parts or identities. For many, it can get scary when these labels get challenged or end, especially if that's the only thing they've associated with or tended to in their lives. Can you guess what movies I'm thinking of now? You nailed it, "The Breakfast Club".
Then, this last part of the quote, "to never lose your childish enthusiasm". "Hook" comes to mind. Come on old man Peter Pan, use your imagination. Believe! The food doesn't have to be so grey... you can fly! Yes, we have responsibilities in life. Yes, sometimes we have to make grown up decisions, which mean we don't get to stay out late playing in the creek. Let's just make sure we are still playing in that creek. Let's make sure we see humour in things and be silly from time to time versus always being paralyzed by making the "right decisions".
Things will come your way. Yup. Sometimes. And, sometimes, we will still experience pain. It's not all or nothing. It might just make life a little more enjoyable if we are living a little more spherically and childishly. Sounds better than being one dimensional and rigid, no?