Often we’re so engrossed in snippets of our lives that we fail to see the big picture; but life, directed by the mother of all directors, has a way of bringing the pieces together.
Think of your favorite movie. It’s tough to find a single segment that conveys the message of the whole; individual pieces range from blissful to horrifying. And it takes all of the pieces to create a great movie–or a great life.
I recently watched “Scent of a Woman” for the third time. Lt. Col. Frank Slade played by Al Pacino ruthlessly dismissed others, made a pathetic scene at his brother’s on Thanksgiving Day, risked his guardian’s life and tried to take his own. He also sensed a stranger’s pain, helped a number of women connect with what made them beautiful and delivered an oration to save his guardian that would have made Lincoln proud.
So, who was he?
Like you, like me, he was a human being riddled with contradiction and paradox. He was not one piece of his life. He was all the pieces coming together to make a whole. He was his past, present and future shaping him into the best lover and friend he could be.… More