Ok. I guess this is movie week in the pandemerings blog. Today, the movie is “Cast Away”.
Tom Hanks plays Chuck – the archetypal go-getter who does everything conceivable to stay in control of his life. Stranded on a beautiful deserted island, he sees the place as a prison, not a paradise. Over time, he adjusts and creates a life, but he still knows his solitary existence is precarious. Motivated purely by hope, he decides to risk everything to escape aboard a raft.
In case you have not seen this movie, I won’t say much more about what happens next.
But what we the viewer find in watching the movie is that Chuck finally discovered the secret long known to spiritual adventurers down through the centuries — the art of giving up the illusion of control and opening oneself to the mysteries of the present moment.
By the end of the movie, Chuck no longer needs to know exactly what the future will look like. His four years of training have set him free for a greater life than the one designed by his ego. Wisdom and love are just down the road.
According to psychologist David Richo, “Hope is about believing in the potential in us for a life that is greater than the one our frightened and limited ego has designed, a wisdom larger than our thinking mind can muster, and a love wider than that with which we embrace our immediate circle of friends.” Hope is the secret buried inside us all waiting to rise to the surface when we need it most. It is a Divine gift, a treasure without measure.”
Being secluded and separated during this pandemic can seem to us like being a castaway on a desert island. The movie reminds us that hope is indeed a Divine gift, one that reveals itself during these times of challenge, and opens up our eyes to see in our future a greater life, a larger wisdom, a wider love.