Even though I don’t have a television or subscribe to cable or any other entertainment site, I do occasionally watch movies from my DVD or digital collection.
I get in a zone when I watch a movie. I can block out the world around me. I pay particular attention to every nuance, background scene, clothing, body language, sets, and, of course, the words of the characters.
I watched Star Trek, Into Darkness, again recently. If you like a fast-paced movie, this is good (though nowhere near as fast as the first one).
During the mayhem towards the end of the movie, Captain Kirk and Spock are in a heated exchange about how to save the Enterprise from eminent destruction.
Kirk: “I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. I only know what I can do.”
I paused it, rewound it, then ran through it again.
How appropriate, I thought. Of course, I thought of the greater implications of this statement. Not just for a task, but for a life.
Credit: vjeran2001 on freeimages.com
I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who knew exactly what they were supposed to be doing with their life. Yet a lot of these same people do so much, their lives filled with all sorts of activities of the heart.
They are just “doing,” and they are doing just fine.
Instead of beating ourselves up because we can’t find what it is we’re supposed to be doing with our lives, why not lessen the pressure, the burden, and just do what we can do, what we’re capable of doing right now.
If you feel like you’re supposed to save the world but you don’t have Rupert Murdoch’s cash, just volunteer at your local soup kitchen and help feed someone. Visit a long-term care facility and make someone’s day brighter.
Say a kind word to a supposed “enemy.”
Smile when you don’t feel like it.
The list of what you can do, I’m sure you’ll agree, is endless.
Maybe, through all this doing, you’ll discover what it is you’re supposed to do.
And just maybe you’ll find, in the words from another movie, that “You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be, and you’re exactly who you’re supposed to be.” *
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* Hit & Run, 2013
The I Am 
I really enjoyed this post, Michael. Well done!
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Thank you very much, Eliza.
Enjoy your evening. 🙂
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“Smile when you don’t feel like it” really works for me 🙂 And I know it does make a difference for others…
Yes, there are always things we can do to make a difference.I always always push my clients until they come up with at least one very small thing they can do every day to change something for themselves. Any change always starts with us… And there’s not one person who can claim that there’s nothing they can do. I don’t accept that 🙂 xox
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I agree wholeheartedly with you. Change is a scary thing for most people. But after it’s implemented, not a second thought is given to it. And that’s cool.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. 🙂
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I agree Michael, we all of us do what we do at any given time, thinking we are doing the best we know how.
There is a difference between those who just get on and ‘Do’, to those who sit back and do nothing, We each can do a great deal.
Even in this seemingly manic world where everything seems out of our control, as we view it from our armchairs we watch the world evolving like the movie on the screen projected into our homes via TV. We unintentionally Judge it via our perceptions of it.
We are changing, as we are evolving and our contribution to those changes we often can not see.
Many now are getting out of their armchairs and seeing how they can help their world. Their sixth sense is telling them it IS TIME for change. Even if it’s caring for our environment more, or helping a neighbour. Our world is coming together via our united thoughts. And I am happy to be here and doing what we are supposed to be doing as the Earth moves forward in its evolution.
Wonderful thoughts and Post Michael. Thank you for allowing me to share mine.
Blessings
Sue
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Yes, Sue, thank you for your comments. There is a more active thrust forward on this planet, one that is more mindful than that from simple spectators.
This is an interesting time we all live in. We will witness (and participate) in some wonderful things to come. 🙂
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