Warning: Contain spoiler for ‘UP’ movie.
I never thought that this animation (that didn’t attract me at first) would be so inspiring.
Not the main story line, but it tells about something that is too late to be done.
The couple had long live dream they build since childhood, to visit a beautiful place called Paradise Fall. They dreamt to make it there or even to build a house there. Since they led simple life where it’s a struggle to make ends meet, they couldn’t really afford to go. A money bin as fund was set up and filled with spare money, titled Paradise Fall. Everyday, everytime, they would try to fill it up with whatever spare they have. However, life didn’t go smoothly, there were always obstacles and incidents that made them use the money for something else. Until they both grew older and older.
One day the husband opened his wife’s diary again. The diary she made for the adventures she was about to do and would do when she was a child. It was a diary that she showed him on the first day they met, with Paradise Fall on the first page, the obsession she shared with the husband, followed by empty pages for the other things she would do. The husband looked at the diary with mixed emotion, remembering the good time they shared, and crushed with heart broken when he saw how weak and old his wife was. He collected all his precious last wealth and went to buy tickets for their dream journey. However, the health of his wife deteriorated and soon she was bed-ridden. When she passed away, all her husband could think of was how they never made it, how they never made their dreams come true.
The whole sub story above was compacted into few minutes of silent animation, but it was very touching, I swear the whole theatre had never been that quiet, especially when it’s full of children. But it was. And I believe it was quietly well received because people can relate to it.
Just around one-two months ago, I made a “soft pact” to myself that I want to dig up my old hobbies.. I was never a person who regret the way I live my life, in fact, I’m happy with it and for everything I did and I’m not sure if I walked back, I would do it differently. However, there are some moments when I thought and wrote about the things I should have done when I was younger, coulda shoulda woulda.
Now, why should I look back and count things I should do? I can’t change the past, nobody could. What I should do is prevent my future me to look back at the time now and question what I don’t do this and that while I can.
As reality really is, obstacles are always around. I’ve done and seen how many people put back their dreams or doing what they want to do because of something else, money, time, family and fill the list of “ If I ….. , I would…… ” Sadly, most of the lists would never come true.
How many times we can have a chance to fix it? Like in Up, there is no such thing as blowing enough balloon to fly your house. I can imagine how nice it would be, although for me I might need all supply of travel sickness pills I can get without being arrested as drug dealer. Or in Bucket List, a movie starred Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, where they got chances to do what they wanted and never did in their lives before they met each other, in the brink of deaths.
It’s in the movie, it can be arranged, but not in ordinary lives that we are in, very unlikely I think.
I’ve seen this kind of regrets happening around. Just when attending funeral or someone passed away. It’s not rare to hear that “It’s such a pity for him/her to go so quickly. He planned to do this/that.. and now it’s too late.”
It’s real that we always have obstacles. As ordinary human being (not some filthy rich people ;p), our main problem is to live and survive, earn enough to spin the living wheel. We are tied with 7/12/14/21 days annual leave subject to approval and money subject to live expenses. There are always something more important to do, there is always something more ‘morally correct’ to do. Beside that, sometimes the obstacles come in something you can’t control.
When a friend of mine was diagnosed with Lupus, the scary incurable disease when instead of protecting, the body immune system attacks. He used to be a very sporty and active person, he was a commercial pilot and he was on top of his life. Look, career, financially well. He lost everything. He lost his license to fly, therefore his career and job, he has to rely on medication, he can’t do everything he likes to do, he can’t even exercise.
Another person got hypertension that cause him some rupture in blood vessel near the eye. As the result, he has to give up scuba diving and anything that can put pressure to the eye.
Or another friend I know who had injury on her spine and dismissed from doing anything more than light physical activities.
Imagine the scary life turner experience, or suddenly the options are no longer there. What we delay and put aside might never be retrieved back. Apparently tomorrow is not always there.
Living here, I’m sort of stuck in cold modern life when I had my lifestyle changes. From a very active outdoor person, I’m limited with the new life and work environment that sorts of confining me. Over the years, I picked up new hobbies like scuba diving, but the limitation of time and money is very significant to this sport, even if that is the only luxury item in my life. And there are oh so many things that can stop me from doing this one day. I’m glad that we are still going strong, along the way, we found other things to do in our dull weekend here and picked up photography, something rhyme with it. Photography kind of connects me back to scuba, outdoor and passion of traveling.
Traveling leads me to the past. I have just found friend here who shares the same passion of mountaineering. We did some trekking in a trip together and I realized how much I miss the world up there. Sea distracts and captives me, but I still have soft spot to go up and love the smell of the forest. Mountaineering is just the same with scuba-diving or other sports, it’s only can only be done when you are healthy, and mostly associated with being young.
We hatch plan to dig up mountaineering, for that was the past in both our lives. With great companion, it should be a great journey. I'd be very grateful if the plan can comes true. However, soft pact is kind of hatching into hard pact. Even if, unfortunately, I have to do it alone, I want to look back in the future and regret nothing. Cia yooooooo!!!!
Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.
- Hebbel
Never underestimate the power of passion.
- Eve Sawyer
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