Theme Thursday - Palm

Palm.

To have something in the palm of your hand means you have complete control over it. Seems like an Idealic statement. How can you have true control over anything? At school at the moment we're learning about Private and Mixed goods. The difference being that mixed goods have an externality an unexpected event cause by the consumption of the mixed good. Life is a mixed good. Everything we do effects everything else. Have you seen the movie the Butterfly Effect? Its where the main character can focus his energy and go back to a moment in his life where he "blacked out" and relive these moments and change the events that happened. In each situation he changes he ends up in a new situation. New friends, the girl he likes is with someone else, or with him. He's friends with the massive goth kid or they've never even met.
Perhaps the externalities we cause arent as massive, changing what we do at one paticular moment shouldn't change the outcomes now should they?
It does make you think though, what if at that moment? What if I had been smarter? Better? Braver? The regrets of the things you should've, could've done.
For me the moment I always think about is when I was in my 3rd year at school. Room 11. My teacher Mrs Lawn came up to me at lunch and asked me if I wanted to be in the play for end of year assembly. After a brief thought I declined. My then bestfriend was asked and he did the part. You could maybe say I palmed the part off to him. :P (Extra points for getting another phrase related to palms right?). He's now a bit of a drama buff, a musician, happy to get infront of a crowd and address them. I'm not saying this one experience made him what he is today. It certainly helped. What if I rather than declining Mrs Lawn had been brave enough to say yes? What if I'd had that part. How would it have changed me? Would I be braver? Less shy? Would that experience at such a young stage of life turned me into an ultimately more extroverted person?
I don't know if it would. I do know that if I knew what I knew know about life and experiences I have had. I would have said yes. If I had a time machine I would tell little 9yr old me to do it. Be brave do the play.
Perhaps then it would mean that I had more control over life in the palm of my hand? Simply because it would change the space of my mind. Of course dwelling on the past living with regrets is stupid. "If we hold on to the past then we cannot fully embrace the present" Is a phrase I recently heard. Its so simple yet so amazingly true. The same could be said about worrying about the future. Or holding on to the what ifs. I think of all the times I have spent hours dreaming of what could have happened. The what ifs. I've wasted so much time on the what ifs. Its a bad habit I'm working on breaking. Need to start on the what do I do RIGHT NOW. Then rather than sitting staring at space perhaps I should be studying, or atleast doing the homework I never do. Who knows!

Ok this post seems a bit of a shambles now. . . Nevermind! Happy Theme thursday!

Nooma

Today after taking two family friends, aged 8 and almost 10 to see Toy Story 3D, brilliant movie btw, made me tear up a little bit. It's really sad and cute at the end. Definately recommend if you havn't seen it. Anyway when I was taking Cameron and Conner to McDonalds after the movie, I saw Nick. Nick is one of those people who is very much in my life, same form class at school, same youth group, same church, same Canoe Polo team (some weeks) we get on well and he's a great mate. Anyway I'd been sort of kind of itching to go to Raiders/Invaders which is a sort of bible study that my youth group does and seeing him at the mall. He invited me which was a bit of the kick I needed to go. I went and it was all about holding on to the past. And the quote below really seemed to hit me hard. The bit in bold especially.

"There's a certain kind of dispair that sets in when we believe that things were better back then.
When we're stuck back there.
When we're not fully present,
When we're holding on to how things were, our arms aren't free to embrace today."

I guess that it's become the quote of my weekend. Its kind of in line with what I've been trying to think, and process through my heart and mind.
The great thing about Nooma what Raiders/Invaders does is that its full of bible verses that relate to what its saying which means it's all biblically based as well so it's all real advice thats been God inspired.

Anyhow do you agree with the quote? Why or Why not? Do you agree with me that it's a good quote?

Let's take it all away

So last night I watched, Star Wars episodes I, II, & III with some mates.

Then we watched a ridiculous movie called mist at 3.30am. It was a horror. Well it was a 'Lol'or one of those movies that seems really scary until you see the monster/creature/murderer and you just go LOL! This is so fake! This happened at the point of the movie when a giant tentacle comes under a garage door and starts trying to drag someone off. At that point we were all like. WHAT! This is to ridiculous. Most of us fell asleep rather than watching this ridiculous movie! Which was fair enough as it was 4am, and we'd been watching movies since 6.00!

I'd never realised how much effort it is to watch 3 star wars one after another. Don't miss understand me I Love star wars, I have a star wars duvey and pillow case. Its the time! Each movie is 2 & 1/2hrs long! One after another = Late night. I have to admit I feel asleep for a bit in episode 2, during the epic battle scenes. But after a glass of coke I was ready to watch the next one. (I'm really pathetic on caffine 1 softdrink = 3hrs until I can get to sleep!). I spent the entire movie arguing in my head, getting angry at ObiWan and Anikin. I knew how the movie ended, but I felt myself erging them to do something different so that the could save the universe from the sith!

In episode 2 what if ObiWan Had believed Count Dooku when he told him that the Sith were in the senate and the Jedi council had acted? What if Anikin had been a better Jedi, chosen the code over Padma and then she wouldnt have died! What if Mace Windoo had kept to the code and taken the Grand Counciller prisoner with Anikin? Or Trusted Anikin and let him come along with him as he arrested him? What if Anakin had choosen to spare the younglins? All these what ifs! How there universe would have been different. The difference it would have made to millions.

It got me thinking, what decisions do I make that effect others? What if at one time if I'd said one thing instead of another. It got me thinking or turning points, points in my life where I made a clear decision that could have gone the other way, and what could of happened. Times when I should of acted and didn't. I wish my life was a choose your own adventure book. Where I could go back to certain pages and try again, try to get a different outcome.

Its not, My life is a regular book, blank on the next page and all I can do is draft ideas of my future and keep writing. Keep turning the pages. My life is different from the movie because I have that power to draft. I don't know the ending I can choose some of whats happening right now. I'm not helpless. I have some control over my book. This is exciting! I can influence my own ending! Of course My ending most likely wont cause the universe to fall into the control of a completely evil man, or even any point in my story. I can keep the pages turning and make each chapter more exciting than the last, look after old friends, make new ones and keep writing the book of my life.

Across the Universe

I did watch this movies today. Movie? Maybe sorta musical. If you've never heard of it. It is the story of Jude, Lucy, Sadie, Jojo, Max, and Prudence. With those names alone several of you may be beginning to feel clicks appearing in your mind to what the songs in the musical are. . . Well Jonny, if you havn't im dissapointed!

The story/musical/movie is full of Beatles songs everywhere. Not in a horrible way where everything is that, but where conversations are had and songs are sung linked but seperately. It is beautifully crafted. I very much enjoyed the movie. It made me go on Youtube and listen to the beatles songs in the movie. And I must say that even though this will be considered hiracy by some. . . I much prefer the versions of the songs sung by the cast in the movie. If you'd like to hear them listen to them in my playlist box.

---------------------------------------->

I think NQA is going to do a big screen viewing of this movie sometime soon! It should be great!