My What???

"So what's your passion?"

This question came from a guest blogger named Mary DeMuth on Michael Hyatt's blog. Her answer to how most respond to this question is like the big red Target dot zeroing in on the end of my nose!

Regardless, she makes some fabulous points about our passions in general, why we often avoid them and discovering exactly what they are. It's called "Find your passion in 3 easy steps" Link at the end of my post and a most worthy read! Please check it out!

I was fascinated by her proposal to pen down my top three "all time" movies and investigate why I enjoy them so much. She brilliantly deduced that it indicates something of what I am passionate about. And though I don't really know how that passion will play itself out, am open to suggestions in the comments, I'm most thankful to recognize it.

The list was easy to make, the thread which linked them...not so much.
The three movies top movies I could (and do) watch over and over are:

1. Persuasion (the 1995 version taken directly from Jane Austen's novel)
2. The Winslow Boy (a fabulous screenplay)
3. A Knight's Tale (main character, the late Heath Ledger)

Other than being excellently written, directed and acted, oh and apparently all British, there's no similarity in plot or characters, they are all from different time periods and various economic backgrounds. So what unites them? I thought on it. And have come to realize something about myself in the process. AND THAT IS EXACTLY what Mrs. Mary DeMuth was getting at, I believe.

One day I will highlight much more about each movie, but here I will be brief and focus only on the things that bind them together in my eyes and why they hold value in my heart~

1. The main character(s) in each of the movies I mention shows a nobility of action, though they are not royally born. Though, for A Knight's Tale, that's a conflict in itself.

2.There is an insignificance of each's situation that's not inherent to their person. Meaning, the protagonists rise above positions of insignificance. Each has value...and each knows their value, is comfortable and assured of it

3. The hero/heroines of these stories fill me with awe. Awe to see what being, not just acting or putting on, a thing I struggle with, but actually BEING a person of honor, courage, strength, dignity, and hope...a person of noble character, the likes of which no regal crown or bloodline can impart.

These are what stir my soul and capture my attention, causing me to gaze with wonder time and again at story lines I know where they're going and dialogue I've memorized by heart. It is what caught my attention and holds it still upon the One who is the ultimate culmination of such a person, nay the One who is the standard to which nobility bows...the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Him I have perfect hope that one day...one day I too will know my value, the worth he has placed upon me. I will be ever mindful of the eternality of each of my words and deeds and not think my life small or insignificant, but most of all that I will walk worthy of Him continually, not only on occasion, because I am part of "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light:" 1 Peter 2:9

So...What's your passion? What are your 3 movies and what binds them in your heart and mind? If you have a moment, share below!

http://michaelhyatt.com/find-your-passion-in-three-steps.html#respond

Review of "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" Part One

There have been moments in my life when a word or phrase has altered my perception of reality, and with that my hope and fears, thereby altering the course of my life. Doubtlessly, you have those memories too. Contrary to Simon & Garfunkel's famous song, we are not rocks or islands. We are organic by design, we effect each other.

For me, the wonder of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium can be summed up in one verse: Proverbs 25:11, A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

I watch in awe as Mr. Magorium, played by actor Dustin Hoffman, this wacky, zany, "off" guy,  makes the most compelling, meaningful statements about life and death, reminding me strangely enough {despite the author's ambiguity towards heaven and, at one point, open disregard for God, our God} of Jesus. Jesus, whose words are "quick and powerful, sharper than any two edge sword...a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb. 4:12

Just like Jesus, every word Mr. Magorium speaks, from the moment of his appearance on the screen til his exit, has purpose. The direction of his words are pointing ever forward in hope, even as he speaks about his death, responding to the question, "Are you dying?" He says, "Light bulbs die, my sweet. I will depart."

The beauty of this character is that he seeks to instill hope in those around him. When he speaks, it is to elevate the person before him from the thought that life is made up of trivial, dismissible moments and to project into them the idea of the "Wonder" of life itself. Just as in the opening scene when the main character, Molly Mahoney, asks impishly "Are we going on an adventure?" and he answers, "Oh, my dear, we're already on one!".

But unlike real life, you can re-watch the movie to get the point that Mr. Magorium isn't talking about the adventure of a certain tale from a certain day or period in time which is unfolding before us on the screen...he's talking about life, about living. He's talking about the NOW.

For example: [after he and Molly have set all the clocks forward ~ in a clock shop~ to strike noon at the same time]

Molly says, "Now we wait."
Mr Magorium counters "No. We Breathe. We Pulse. We Regenerate. Our hearts beat. Our minds create. Our souls ingest. Thirty-seven seconds, well used, is a lifetime."

The last scene, in Mr Magorium's departing monologue is perhaps the most brilliant and poignant summation of the life, not the death, of Shakespeare's King Lear. It's worth quoting here:

"When King Lear dies in Act V, do you know what Shakespeare has written? He's written "He dies." That's all, nothing more. No fanfare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential work of dramatic literature is "He dies." It takes Shakespeare, a genius, to come up with "He dies." And yet every time I read those two words, I find myself overwhelmed with dysphoria. And I know it's only natural to be sad, but not because of the words "He dies." but because of the life we saw prior to the words."

My dearest friends and family, some of you I know are hurting terribly, having had deep losses in the past few months and continued wounds from loved ones taken at what would be a time deemed "too soon"...my wish for you in reading this is to realize that part of the tragedy in King Lear and the joy of Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium is found in the storyline itself, unspoken but evident. It is the love that was bestowed upon each respectively. These two fictional characters, Mr. Magorium and King Lear were loved greatly.

Our departed babies, sisters, mothers and friends...they were loved greatly...by you...by me. We are the evident treasury of their lives, however brief they may have been. And Beloved, as significant as our love is, may I present to you a comforting truth~ our love pales in comparison: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us..." Ephesians chapter 2 ~ the verse is worth uncovering as He shows how he has loved us.

May you know that great love in your own life...May it effect your life to make of it a joyful journey, not a woeful tragedy.