"Give it up. It's time to stop running"
Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard
The Fugitive 1993
Don't we find ourselves running at times where we should just stop and take a brisk walk instead? Step-by-step people are on a mission. Leap-by-leap; sprint-by-sprint and charge-by-charge, people are running from something; but what? I like to think that a run is a athletic excursion, where you break a sweat; raise your heart-rate and burn some calories. When people run from the law, the truth, the reality, or the game; we realize that the only way you will be caught, is if you stop running, and someone wants you at a standstill.
Can you reflect on a time where running away from something meant gaining something else?
I look at life as a marathon, not a sprint. I look at choices in life as a path on a trail that has obstacles; hills, rocks, dirt walkways, wild weeds and mud. We don't know exactly how a trail will turn out, yet we still decide to risk it. We can assume that a great pair of sneakers or hiking boots will save us from the elements; but, we don't know what may be around the turn, or up a mile ahead; so we prepare mentally for the surprise in it all and risk what may be lost.
Roll with the punches is what I grew up learning, yet, I seem to have a difficult time adapting to change as an adult.
So what can I do to embark on this changing environment? Well, I can run, or I can stop and enjoy the obstacles. In the fugitive, we follow Dr. Richard Kimble in his excursion to regain the truth behind him being falsely accused. The film takes us through a man's powerful drive to seek redemption, and clear his name. When someone else puts the blame on you, are you running in circles to prove the world wrong, or are you accepting of the discourse? Many of us don't take blame for incidences that someone else throws into our laps. However, the times that we are in the fault, do we deny, and run?
If we don't take blame for our digressions? Do we take fault for our immorality or our indecisiveness?
As we come across those that don't operate their life similar to ours; we come across those that can run without a slight bit of exhaustion, and others that pant and pant until they come to a complete halt. I do ask that people hold accountability for their actions; yet, why are we always hoping someone else is the bad guy?
Whether or not we compete our faults; someone, somewhere, is aware that truth is in the eye of the beholder.
Take a look around, when you drive, you blame the car in front of you for going to slow, or cutting you off. When we bump into walls we blame the wall for being in the way and so we kick it back. When we hold a conversation, we blame the listener for not understanding our point and we gain frustration. Fugitive or not; innocent or guilty; we run because we need to find the energy to defeat when we know because the tide is coming in and someone is either going to rescue us, or take us under.
The race is over, is the time on your stop watch in your favor?
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bobbot
Alpha Whiskey
Gary Gladstone
fingerlakeswanderer
Dennis Knight
Gabby Fox
Salon.com
Comments
Save yourselves! Great post about a great movie.
Thanks...
Oh.. and Chris Brown... (not the felon).. I support you man ;-)
interesting that you compared the "race of redemption" to, in some ways, the progression of life, that it's some sort of innate competition. at least, i read it two ways - one being the fight for redemption (righteousness) and the other being sort of the "rat race" of daily existence.
i totally relate to blaming the other car. i'm convinced that i'm the best driver around (ha ha).
i think the drive for redemption, when a person is truly innocent, is something that plays out so differently depending upon the situation, though. some people just give up, and others see it as a game of survival - it depends on the costs versus benefits of putting up a fight. those that sink think they'll be able to breathe eventually. as a type A personality, i'm more likely to at least try to swim. i wonder if personality type has anything to do with it. there are real-life examples i can list, but i know some people who would just prefer to complain about the alleged wrong than actually do something about it, even if the proverbial back is up against the wall, even if they are innocent. then there are those who will stubbornly fight tooth and nail, even when they know they are wrong. some people are just contrary and deflect all the time.
i work for a civil rights department, so i see it all. as a result, for some cases, i don't think there's anything wrong with tossing out a life preserver once in a while.
Rated.