Musicals and Legacies

Well, it has been a while since I last posted. Sorry about the delay, but if you read my blog at all you realize that this is nothing new. I have always had long gaps between posts. For those of you who would like to see more pictures and possibly download them I have made available those pictures in a gallery on my website. Here is the link: http://the-reality-check.com/longgallery.html

But that is not why I am posting. I don't really have any reason to post, but simply to ramble and let whatever thoughts rattling about in my brain spill out onto the blog. I hope that it then takes shape into some sort of cohesive fabric that gives insight into my soul. Not too tall of an order eh?

Anyway, I recently purchased and watched the DaVinci Code starring Tom Hanks. I haven't read the book, but a friend of mine has and has also told me all about it. He didn't give any of the plot away so there were still plot twists that surprised me throughout the movie. I have to admit that I enjoyed the movie. I watched it as a movie not as a documentary or something containing any 'truth' at all. On that point, the movie as well as the book fall terribly short. Some differences between the two are as follows: In the book Sir Teabing and Robert Langdon treated the assertion that the Holy Grail was/is a woman they both acted as if the assertion were common knowledge to learned people. Whereas in the movie Robert Langdon's character disagrees with Sir Teabing on many points of the assertion. My friend described the book as 'preachy', but I didn't get that feeling at all from the movie.

While he also didn't like the token character of the albino monk as the assassin, I thought the character was great. I for one haven't seen another 'bad guy' in a book or movie that was an albino monk, I guess he just thought it was too much of a cliché typecast. I didn’t care for the main thrust of the movie in a philosophical sense, but as a mystery movie or the typical ‘who-done-it’ it was masterfully done. Ron Howard did a great job directing the movie and I simply loved the cinematography. The locations they filmed at no doubt made the cinematographer’s job much easier, places like The Louvre in Paris, Roslyn Chapel in Scotland, Westminster Abbey in London, to name a few of the big ones. I also liked the fact that in casting the movie they tried to remain true to the international theme within the novel. Ron Howard made the decision to cast actors from the same countries as their characters.

But enough about The DaVinci Code. For Christmas, Lisa got me a DVD that surprised me greatly. For those of you who don’t know me, I love musicals. Now while I know that some men (and women) find this very feminine, I don’t find it so at all. I think this type of thing only helps any individual to become a more well-rounded person. My favorite musical of all time is The Sound of Music with Julie Andrews. Which is the DVD that Lisa bought for me. Last week we introduced Rilee and Mason to it. They absolutely loved it!

Now they know the words to most of the songs and they each have their favorite song. So, to continue on the theme we started looking for other musicals that I would consider classics that we think the children would like as well. The next one we purchased and had them watch also starred Julie Andrews but this time along side Dick Van Dyke. It was the musical Mary Poppins. She’s “practically perfect in every way.” Lol

They enjoyed it very much but Rilee informed me that he likes The Sound of Music better. Definitely my son!

I don’t know what it is about some of these musicals that I like so much, maybe it’s because it brings back the remembered feelings of childhood when watching these same musicals with my mother? I don’t know, but I like the fact that I am building some of those same memories with my children. I hope that when they are older they will also remember and maybe even continue this tradition with their own families.

I know that I have put a lot in this blog about my wishes for the future and I hope that I don’t sound too morose about life, but I also know that I have a great desire to be remembered after I am gone, and I don’t want it to be a fleeting memory, I want to be remembered for something that mattered. I want to matter to my family a great deal, I want to matter to my friends a great deal, but also I want to matter to the world in a good way. I want some sort of legacy that will make a difference in time. I guess I am looking for some sort of legacy or some sort of immortality in this physical realm. I know that it will all eventually mean nothing, as this world will someday be replaced by God’s eternal kingdom of the New Heaven and New Earth, but the impact that I would like to have in this physical realm I wish to be eternal. So I guess what I want is some sort of an impact on eternity. While I know that there are easy metaphysical answers that come to mind when asked a question like this, none of them seem to be realistic to me. Or at least they don’t seem practical in helping me achieve this goal.

So I continue to search for some way to influence my world, to make a difference, to matter. I continue to do my best in what I know and to do my best to do what is right and just. I don’t always do it, but I continue to try. I think that in a philosophical sense I partly fall into the category of the existentialist, who is looking for meaning without looking for the supernatural. The main difference lies that I know there are supernatural explanations for many things (if not all) I believe it to the core of my soul. But for some reason this corporeal physical world still matters a great deal to me. I don’t want to be a ‘turbo Christian’ you know what I mean, someone that is ‘so Heavenly minded that they are no Earthly good.’ I have met many people that fit this description and only one or two in which I could find genuineness in. This is also my dilemma, I want to do these things and have this impact while remaining true and genuine. Then I wonder if this is something strange that I feel, something abnormal, or if others feel the same way. If others do feel the same way, then I feel the need even more to find a good and genuine answer and then tell others so that they can do what it is that will matter to them. All the while knowing that there is no ‘one’ answer that will fit everyone. That the answer to this question is different for each person individually, and that the question is most probably searching for God’s will for my life. If that is what it is, then I sure wish I knew what it was so I could do it!

I know many people will tell me to ask God, and then listen to Him. Easily said but not so easily done. There is always the doubt that I am doing whatever it is on my own or from my will, instead of God’s. I guess I am searching for completeness and a feeling of security in what I have done and what I have stood for. I mean consider the DaVinci Code, both Dan Brown and Ron Howard have done something that matters possibly in eternity. Both will be remembered by time, by the world, by history. Maybe not in the best light but they have done something that was to them worth doing. That is what I want to do, something worthwhile, that will survive time, that will be remembered in history not because of my need for acceptance, but for my need to make a difference, to matter.

Maybe I don’t exactly know what it is that I really want, but I do know that I want something more than what there is. I don’t hate my job, but I don’t love it either. I know it isn’t something that I want to do, I know it’s not the job I want to do until I retire. I know that if it is, it’s not the worst thing in the world. So I do know something, I know that I don’t know what I want to know. While I’m sure that sounds confusing, it makes total sense to me. I hope that I’m not sounding New Age or anything, but people that don’t understand Truth and are searching for the same answer I can see how New Age could be attractive to them.

Now I am beginning to ramble and should probably stop while I’m ahead. But before I do, know this:

I am not despairing of finding this answer. I am not despondent. Just the opposite, I am hopeful. I am full of anticipation to finding the answer; I just hope it happen soon. Until then I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing the best that I can.