Dear Friends,
With Oscar
season in the air, we’re looking to the silver screen for catalysts about how
to create an inspired life in the real world. As you’ll see below,
it can be fun and stimulating to reflect on “coaching questions” prompted by key scenes or themes from each film. And, hey, I always love an excuse
to sneak off to a theatre in the early evening! Send a quick email with your
thoughts. Thanks much.
All the
best,
Marian
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Lights, Camera,
Inspiration!
My heart
rate rising while Jennifer Hudson belts out “I’m not going,” (DreamGirls), Kevin Costner breaking the
door down with, “I’m tired of being your bitch” (The Upside of Anger), Zuzu’s petals, Brad Pitt’s bottom lip. These
are some of the reasons I LOVE movies. In anticipation of the Academy Awards on
Feb 25, I feel giddy. (Check out a fun video at Oscar.com). Relevant to waking
up inspired, movies can be a powerful way to stimulate insights about who you
are and the life you really want to create. Let’s face it; it’s dangerous to use the fantasy world of
the cinema as a measuring stick against real life, especially if you are
expecting tidy resolutions in happy endings and epic- crawling through the
desert to kiss her once more- movie romance. I don’t know about you, but I
don’t have quippy lines from brilliant writers, soul-stirring musical scores,
makeup artists and soft lighting bathing me while talking to my husband in the
kitchen. Nonetheless, we can use movies to prompt contemplation about our own
true choices.
Here are
some movie moments that have inspired me, for You to consider as fuel for your
fulfilling, prosperous life. There are “coaching questions” to digest after
watching each film.
Claiming Your Power
On a recent
coaching call I asked a client to watch Akeelah
and the Bee as part of her homework. If you’d like a boost about more fully stepping into your own power (like
the Marianne Williamson quote, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…”) enjoy watching this
eleven year old claim her gift and be a quiet leader in the power of what it
really means to love thy neighbor and love your enemies.
Imagine
a world with more people behaving like Akeelah. In what ways would You like to
model her or what seems to drive her choices?
Gratitude & Go For
It
Coming back
to icy cold Chicago and what appeared as a monstrous to-do list after the
holidays and 10 days of playing in Santa Barbara, I was feeling whiney. High class whining—like
wishing we could afford Santa Barbara real estate or grunting about aspects of
my work that I don’t relish. Then I saw The
Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith, inspired by the true story of Chris
Gardner. I wept in the ladies room afterward—deeply grateful for every inch of
my home, every rice cracker in the drawer, and every opportunity for work I
might have the privilege of enjoying. Watching Will Smith and his son together
is heart-swelling, too.
A
key line: “Don’t ever let somebody tell you that you can’t do something. You
got a dream, you got to protect it. If you want something, go get it. Period.” When
have you been shot down or held back? How does that old story possibly linger
in your choices today? What’s the real truth or new story you want to believe?
What’s worth your best “go get it” energy now?
True Leadership
My heart stopped for a brief moment in the film, Chocolat (2000). O.K. it
also stopped the first time Johnny Depp appeared looking oh so come hither,
but that’s not the scene I’m focusing on here. Juliette Binoche sets up a
chocolate shop in a small village dominated by a strict moral code and a
repressed, condemning and conniving mayor. On the surface, he is the town’s
upstanding leader and she represents a naughty distraction. In the scene where
she discovers him in an utterly humiliating and compromised position, she
demonstrates who she really is. She
would have every right to judge, laugh, and broadcast his personal disgrace to
the whole town, as payback for all of his backstabbing and plotting to banish
her. With dignity and genuinely respectful compassion, she simply says, “I will
not tell a soul.” In this moment she is the embodiment of true leadership in
the community. In many other ways, she is the servant leader to the
people of this town, helping them to awaken to their own true natures, heal old
wounds and discover new possibilities.
Why would I say that
Juliette Binoche’s character in Chocolat is one of my favorite examples of
servant leadership? Where do you agree or disagree? What are you suppressing or
not letting yourself have (what the chocolate often represents in this film)
these days? What could make room for sweeter, richer aliveness in your life?
If you haven’t seen them yet…Two of the best movies from this year:
Babel (brutal, gripping, brilliant filmmaking.) I’ll ask you the same question I
asked my nephew walking home from this one. What do you think that was about?...not the plot, but what message was the director trying stir up? I hope you too will be inspired by this invitation for our souls to remember who we are and what we need in our world today.
- Little Miss Sunshine (Charming, funny, moving. Amazing ensemble cast that refreshingly breaks Hollywood norms of likeable good guys and disturbing bad guys. ) Enjoy this ride!
Are you ready to grab some popcorn and relax into your favorite spot?
Be well… be inspired,
Marian
Unless you’ve been hiding in caves, this drama won’t reveal any big stories or new angles on the war, the media and American life that you don’t already know. However, it stirred things up for me. I wept with Meryl Streep’s veteran journalist, as she wrestles with her integrity and deeply embedded heartache, rising up like indigestion. I was taken in by Tom Cruise’s charming senator, and then wasn’t sure if I was proud of being intelligently open-minded or wanted to take a shower. I sighed from inside, without showing it, along with Redford’s professor -- who hopes he sees real hope in the eyes of a not fully formed student. Essentially, this movie is about one word—Engagement. 
