Analyzing Internal Controversy
So my entire world is going to be populated with thoughts of this movie, or at least of thoughts spurred by the initial disruption the message of the movie re-instilled in me.
Wanderlust is a very real human condition and depending on your ability to take action on it might be seen as either the holy driving force behind your happiness, in the case of the wanderer, or the sinking feeling of pointless desperation, in the more tragic tale of the wandering spirit who has found himself stuck in the very cage he built for himself. For the man who makes his life into a motion around the country or the world or however far he can manage to drive himself, he’s constantly meeting new faces, finding new loves, shaking new hands and then eventually, due to the very nature of his progression, has to leave them behind.
But perhaps more powerful, or at least more prevalent in our people, is the need to establish relationships and bonds and spend time with other humans. It’s so powerful, in fact, that many of us would rather forgo happiness, staying in bad relationships for example, than to give it up.
So how does the wanderer contend with his need for human interaction? Can some people simply find the same feelings of security and acceptance in brief acquaintances, knowing that those people still exist even when they’re away and therefore the friendship is still real and lasting, even if it can’t be experienced daily? Or perhaps the two needs, wanderlust and relationships, are somehow mutually exclusive of one another, polar opposites of sorts, so that the extreme ends of the scale might be the solo hobo who has no desire for humanity’s approval at all vs. the grandmother who’s biggest dream is having all 10 of her children and their families over for Thanksgiving dinner.
And for those of us who find ourselves with a healthy dose of both feelings, nothing could be more cruel. To desire solitude when surrounded by friends and companionship when alone and under the stars is a sinking, sickening feeling that proves how powerful the human heart can be to withstand that type of slow, seeping torture over an entire lifetime. Maybe it’s these types of struggles, in various forms and formats, that eventually result in simply dying of old age. A weary heart that’s struggled through a conflicting set of life views eventually decides to try something else.
Up Next: How to Live this Life