And the days march onward. It is now dead in the heart of autumn, and honestly, really nice weather. But like the actual winds that came in since last night, the winds in my life are picking up, and there may be another big change coming.
Without going into any details, there was a little incident in a work meeting for me at the beginning of this last week that wasn't even remotely about me- and yet, it made me realize, despite what I had expected, and now much I enjoy my current line of work, that this place where I'm currently employed is not as long term a plan as I had originally thought. But to be more strictly honest, I had a feeling well before this incident that I should start keeping my eyes open and looking for other possibilities. Now, it's becoming more of a reality, as I have a phone interview with a company I think it would be cool to work at. We'll see what comes of it.
But that aside, it's been a nice week. We went on a couple of autumn drives to see the changing colors, and in one of those drives, I remembered a movie I had seen, but hadn't re-watched in a good moment. That movie is Imaginaerum. If you haven't heard of it, that comes as no shock. It's a movie released in 2012 that got nowhere near as much attention as it still deserves. Probably, the biggest reason for this is because it was originally just meant to be a compilation of music videos for the Finnish symphonic metal band, Nightwish. But it became a WHOLE lot more than that.
I can't spoil this movie, because it's just too dang good. What I will say, though, is that it is WAY better than it has any right to be. Like WAY better. Again, this was just supposed to be music videos, but what it turned into was not only an emotional tale about a relationship between a father and a daughter, but a visual storytelling experience that reaches very personal emotional levels, and has subtle but extremely important messages about choosing to accept emotions, the importance of learning to let go of past harms, the good and the bad about generational passed-down traits, and so much more! Once again, I cannot state, this movie has NO RIGHT to be as good as it is!
Oh, and ...I will spoil one subtle detail, but only for the sake of hooking you on curiosity- let me ask you: what movie could pull all this off, and also manage to work in a scene where Finnish symphonic death metal clowns are moshing a young kid around in a scary circus stadium (yes, you read that correctly), and STILL have such a deep, reaching effect? Oh and the cinematography is awesome, did I mention that? And the music? And the visuals? And yeah, just one more time- it is WAY BETTER than it has ANY right to be! See if you can find it out there. At the time of writing, it's still available on YouTube for free, but even if you have to pay money for it, it is WELL worth it!
Okay, film rant over. What can I say? I love a movie that combines all those good elements, with such a good message that stays with me. And from my last viewing of this movie, I feel the most important thing I took away was that choosing to escape our emotions may be fun, but it disconnects us from some of the most important people and experiences this life has to offer. I know it's something I struggle with in various ways. I suppose everyone does to some degree or another- it's why vices exist, right?
So, this week, see if you can recognize vices in your life that are buffers to keep you from feeling heavy and important things. Sometimes, recognization is no small feat! Until next week, see ya!