I recently saw a wonderful movie, Into The Wild. The movie
follows a young man after he graduates with honors from
college. He decides to cut himself off from capitalistic
society - he burns his social security card, gives away all
his money and makes a decision to end all communication
with his friends and family.
The motivating force behind his action is anger at his
parents. For anyone that has experienced a dysfunctional
family (dare I say most of us), one can understand
harboring ill will at those who screwed up our
impressionable minds with lies, emotional abuse, and
misguided actions.
Some may say the main character, Alexander, overreacts. My
first thought was he did. However, I understood his anger
and his cockiness - as obnoxious as he was, he was acting
out of a pain that was fresh and impossible to escape.
Alexander sets off on an amazing journey to try (to
escape). His goal is Alaska. He seems compelled to go to
this place which is void of any hint of commercialism. In
its place is what Alexander wants the most, "truth". The
character worships the wisdom Henry David Thoreau who puts
truth above fame, money, and love.
Thoreau, himself, spent over two years living with nature
at Walden Pond. This author's experience led him to believe
that if one were to live a truthful life it would require
us to simplify our existence by shedding our lives of
unnecessary attachments.
Alexander took Thoreau's words to the extreme. He picked a
much more severe natural setting. Alexander's Walden Pond
was a remote, harsh territory of Alaska. His home of
several weeks was a dilapidated bus (not sure how it got
there) in the middle of the wild. It became the place where
he slept and wrote of his adventure. He read, and hunted,
and lived the life he was sure would have made Thoreau
proud.
Along his journey, Alexander meets other wandering souls.
These interactions with well meaning folks soften the hard
edges of the main character. And even though Alexander sees
how forgiveness and family may have their place, he is
determined to complete his destiny, while clinging to his
anger.
Once in the belly of nature, Alexander feels at home (for a
while). The solitude and natural beauty feeds him like the
nurturing spirit of the family he wished he had. But as
abundant and beautiful as nature is, it can be harsh as
well. Harsh because it does speak the truth (Thoreau was
right about this); and the truth, at its deepest level, is
often hard to bear.
The truth about the wild (nature) is that all that live and
die there, depend upon more then just themselves for
survival. Berries that grow need the sun and moisture. The
moose need water from the river. And the wolves need other,
weaker animals to feast upon. There is an unspoken bond
that exists between these players. There connection is not
at once seen for what it is, but those involved know at a
deep level that they are a part of something bigger.
Alexander was a very intelligent person. His mind grabbed
onto the concepts that Thoreau so eloquently put to paper,
but Alexander's heart was separated from his mind and body.
What he did not understand was he could not find truth by
escaping his past. Only when Alexander acknowledged his
family would always be a part of him (and forgive them)
would he be able to thrive.
The tree knows it is part of nature. When it is cold or
there is no sun, the tree does not choose to separate
itself from nature because it feels slighted. It just
remains, and in time the sun and the rain bring it
nourishment. Nature adapts. It knows what it is and trusts
that it will be given what it needs.
Alexander had this epiphany near the close of his death. He
found himself stuck in the wilderness and on the brink of
starvation, when he began to write in his journal more from
his heart than in his head. He wrote his thoughts in the
form of a list. Simple and to the point, his words showed a
break in anger, and revealed his true spirit - one that
finally connected with the nature that surrounded him.
I highly recommend this film. It is out on DVD right
now-available anywhere. It was difficult and painful to
watch, but the message was inescapably clear. It was the
one of Alexander's final entries, "true happiness is
shared." In life, as in nature, I could not agree more.
----------------------------------------------------
Kim McGinnis is a freelance writer/entrepreneur. She
operates multiple sites and writes for various
publications. Her video production company, Avenstar,
creates all kinds of projects-infomercials, training
videos, promotional videos (to name a few)go
to=>http://www.avenstar.net Also visit Mark's (Kim's
partner) blog, Bring You Success
http://www.bringyousuccess.com to learn valuable tips to
grow your website's traffic-& earn more money now.
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