“Reflections on a scene from the Darjeeling Limited” or “Sometimes all a person has to offer is breakfast”
I just recently re-watched one of my favorite movies. I went to my friend Aaron’s party to see a marathon of Wes Anderson’s films (in chronological order) and so ended with The Darjeeling Limited. I always get something new from this flick, and this time was struck by something I wanted to share.
Disclaimer - There will be spoilers in this if you haven’t seen the movie.
The Darjeeling Limited, like most Wes Anderson films, is about desperate people. In this case, it’s about three brothers. They are, from oldest to youngest, Francis, Peter, and Jack. Francis, played by Owen Wilson, is the eldest and the leader. Well, as much of a leader as he can be. We find out early on the brothers have not spoken in a year. But, as we all know, when it comes to families it’s easy to pick that old dynamic up. So we start the story at the beginning of a journey. Francis has called the brothers together to go on a spiritual journey through India as well as a time for the brothers to reconnect. Little do we (or Peter and Jack) know, it is all a ploy to get the boys together to go after their mom. She has been completely absent from their lives for a year as well. The separation of the characters all dates back to the death of their father. However, through dialogue we come to realize the mom ditching the boys is not exactly a new thing. She was never really there for her sons, and perhaps the boys father was a rich, busy business man (all of the boys seem pretty well off). So, that left Francis to raise them all. Fast forward a bit, and the boys find their way to a Convent where their mom has been living for the past year. They meet, embrace, and have an emotional night where they begin to bring up the past. The boys ask, “where have you been? Why did you leave? Why didn’t you come to dad’s funeral” The trouble is, their mother has no answers for their questions. She stops them and says they should all stop feeling sorry for themselves. She says she wants the past to be over, but it’s clear that’s not yet possible for the boys. They leave each other for the night after making an agreement. They decide to get an early start the next day and make their plans for the future.
The next morning, the boys awake to find breakfast in their doorway, but no signs of their mother. The other sisters at the convent say that she goes away sometimes, and there’s no telling when she’ll be back.
That is the scene that sparked my interest this time. I’m pretty sure the mom loved her sons. I don’t think she wanted anything bad to happen to them. The trouble is, she was so self centered, or maybe so damaged, she literally had nothing to offer her kids. All she could do was make them breakfast and run. The boys were left with only each other. But finally, they realized that was enough. When we’re faced with these situations in life, situations that suck, we need to take stock of what we have and cherish it. Sometimes, we are given exactly what we need. We are just too focused on what we crave to see it right under our noses.
The hurry’s gonna bring you to your knees
I know this much is true
Your eyes are gonna rob you of your thunder
Show you everything but you
We’re caught when are hands are off the wheel
And our foot is on the gas
Like a moth to a flame, the fire moves us
Just waiting on the crash
Yeah, you know we will…
Let the drumbeats wash you over
Let the songs come and take you under
Push the life that brought you here away from you tonight
There’s a place where the pain can’t touch ya
And there’s a fire where the heat won’t burn ya
It’s in the sound of your voice tonight singing in one song
You can hear it in the trail behind your voice
There’s a multitude who claim
They’ve been through the fire of fallen angels
And they’ll never be the same
We live with the weight of what we’ve done
The cracks that we slip through
No time to forget about our future
Just the things that we won’t do
But ya know you can’t…
Let the drumbeats wash you over
Let the songs come and take you under
Push the life that brought you here away from you tonight
There’s a place where the pain can’t touch ya
And there’s a fire where the heat won’t burn ya
It’s in the sound of your voice tonight singing in one song
I know you’ll hear
The power in the way
Your voice can sound
When there’s nothing left to say
I know you’ll feel
The way that I have felt tonight
Without a single thing in mind
It sounds just right…
It sounds just right…
It sounds just right…
It sounds just right…
Let the drumbeats wash you over
Let the songs come and take you under
Push the life that brought you here away from you tonight
There’s a place where the pain can’t touch ya
And there’s a fire where the heat won’t burn ya
It’s in the sound of your voice tonight singing in one song
I have been totally in love with this song for about a month. I don’t think I can add anything else to the lyrics… they’re pretty perfect. It’s an amazing picture of deciding we’re not ok with what we’ve got for ourselves. It’s a call to let go, and let God take control. It’s helping us remember that the things we’ve done have weight, but they can’t weigh us down if we don’t let them. These lyrics are the definition of hope.
“Gasp! Marketing Jesus!?! He is not a marketing tool!” I know, I know. Ok, now that we got that outta the way, let’s dig in. As christians, as a church worker, I am constantly marketing Jesus… marketing Christianity. Honestly, it’s almost always at the forefront of my mind. This past week, I had a chance to watch a live taping of “The Best Damn Sports Show Period”. I found myself thinking, what if they brought me on stage to interview me? What would I promote? I could promote myself, in some way, but i wouldn’t have. I would have said “Log on to 3 w’s dot relevantchurch dot com!” See what I mean? Promoting and marketing my church is always on my mind. And that’s because I believe in our vision to change lives through Christ. So i personally market through myself, my style, my behavior, the places i go, the things i like. As a church, we market with signs, billboards, websites, good deeds, mailers, in all sorts of ways. So hopefully now you have an idea of what I mean when i say marketing Jesus or Christianity. Now, let’s look at the title of this blog. Re-Marketing Jesus. Unfortunately, Christians have done a sucky job of marketing Jesus. Just look at it on the individuals level. Many Christans are weird. They awkwardly try and “win” you to their side. Many of their relationships have agendas (usually not very hidden). They are judgmental, petty, hypocritical, and honestly, not cool. Corporately, it’s even more bleak. All the same qualities that I just mentioned exist here as well. Plus, the products that they are putting out are usually just lame. Why would anyone outside of Christianity want to associate with any of this? The only thing I can think of is because they think it’s something they should look at. They owe it to themselves to give “a higher power” a chance. So, anytime we, as a staff, try to do something to bring attention to our church, we have to realize that’s what we’re fighting against. Those are the pre-conceived notions people will have in their head. So I think we’re at a point where we need to re-market Jesus. We need to offer something that seems different for the people in our generation. Something fresh, exciting, and life changing. Something that I think is a whole lot closer to what God intends us to offer people. I want to see church’s out there thinking of new and exciting ways to get people involved in the conversation. Because the more people we can get to look at us the more chances we have of them checking us out. And if they check us out, they may stick around. And if they stick around, I feel there’s no way they can be the same. So, anyone got any cool ideas i can steal?
Hello blog! It’s been too long… Sorry I’ve been busy. Busy with what you ask? Lots of things, but one big thing. Me and the roomies moved. That’s right, me, Greg and Ryan moved a little further into Temple Terrace and Andrew moved back home (I would say I’ll miss you, but we’re not allowed). And the funny thing is, me and the fellas moved into a townhouse that we are renting from my sister. It’s actually the same place I lived in when I went to high school. So yes, I have the same bedroom. It’s a little creepy sometimes, but it’s ok, we’re making it our own place. We’ve been here about a month and today I just put an awesome lamp together for my room. So now I can see when I type… or read… or do anything. (thanks Bekah!) So blog, I know you’re probably thinking “A month! That’s way too long to wait to see… Seeing is important!” And you’re probably right, but sometimes I take a long time to figure things out. But the lights on now, and I’ve starting working on my room. I’m unpacking boxes, throwing stuff away, it’s starting to look pretty nice! So the title of this entry is “The End of an Era”, that era being my old place, but after i started writing, I decided I don’t really want to talk about the old apartment that much right now. It was a blast, and it was crazy, but now it’s behind me. And I’m glad. I’m excited for what’s to come. Now I’m gonna sit here and listen to Drain You on repeat, get some sleep, and wake up in my new (sort of) bedroom! Whoo hoo!
So one of my room mates, Andrew, moved away from us at the beginning of December. It was a joyous occasion, and we threw a party the second he was on the road. I just wanted to remind the world that the countdown to Andrews death is still on… See ya soon buddy.
Ok, so this took a lot longer then i originally thought… plus I didn’t do what i promised with the video. Who knows, maybe later. Anyway, let’s do this!
Blink 182 - Dammit
It’s alright to tell me
what you think about me
I won’t try to argue
or hold it against you
I know that you’re leaving
you must have your reasons
The season is calling
your pictures are falling down
The steps that I retrace
The sad look on your face
The timing and structure
Did you hear he f****d her
A day late a buck short
I’m writing the report
On losing and failing
When I move I’m flailing now
And it’s happened once again
I’ll turn to a friend
Someone that understands
Sees through the master plan
But everybody’s gone
and I’ve been here for too long
To face this on my own
Well I guess this is growing up
Well I guess this is growing up
And maybe I’ll see you
at a movie sneak preview
you’ll show up and walk by
on the arm of that guy
And I’ll smile and you’ll wave
we’ll pretend it’s okay
The charade it won’t last
when he’s gone I won’t come back
And it’s happened once again
You’ll turn to a friend
Someone that understands
Sees through the master plan
But everybody’s gone
and you’ve been here for too long
To face this on your own
Well I guess this is growing up
Well I guess this is growing up
I’ve been listening to this song a lot lately. I don’t know if it’s exactly how I feel, but it’s pretty close. I tend to do a lot of belly button gazing, and obviously with my “adult child” series I’ve been very intentional about that. So here’s what I got… I suck at some things. I’m late a lot. When I say I’ll do something, chances are I’ll forget it. I can be a jerk to my friends. I live like a frat boy. I can’t cook, I don’t budget well, and all of my favorite bartenders know my name and exactly what I’ll drink. In so many ways, I am an adult kid. But I also work in my passion. I know I serve a higher purpose, and I know I make a difference in peoples life with what I do. I do a great job leading a small group, I think I set a good example of excellence at work, and that God should get our best efforts. I also lend an ear and kind word when our best isn’t good enough. I am fiercely loyal, and would do anything for my friends and family. I feel like I’m a mixture of responsible and irresponsible. And I love that I can be both. I know theres another stage in my life that I need to be planning for, and looking forward to, but I like where I’m at. When the time is ready for me to be different, I know I will be. I’m still enjoying being spontaneous, and ridiculous, and awesome (thank you Barney). I love being on this journey, and I love everyone that’s on it with me. I’ve got some big goals, and I know I’ll get there. I think that’s pretty grown up. Get on the train, cause I wanna take you with me. I think that’s pretty grown up too. Just understand the kid that’s still in me may run you over on the way. Don’t blame me though… you’ve been warned.
Very rarely do I feel like I *need* a girlfriend. This was one of those times. I went grocery shopping and i looked t the receipt after i made my purchases. It was pretty sad.
Beer
Soda
Beer
Bread
Totinos
Bananas
Little Debbies Fudge Rounds (love these)
and… a loofah.
It made me laugh. So, who wants to help me grocery shop? Siderbar… why are loofahs NOT sold in some sort of bag? I’m gonna take that loofah and rub it all over me (enjoy that visual) and who knows what that loofah has been through?
Ok, ok… i know. Its been over a week since i last updated you on my adult child investigation. I guess that doesnt do much to help my case. I have a bad habit of starting things and not finishing them. But, on the other hand, i became very busy at work. And everything i need to accomplish on that front was accomplished. So, maybe thats a good thing? Who knows. Anyway, On with the post. I have lots of random stuff for you tonight. I just finished “The Watchmen”. Incredible! I will write about that soon. I helped my friends Ashley and Roy shoot an audition tape for a reality show that contacted Ashley. That was fun, and it was cool to meet Roy. We seem to have a lot of the same interests, and I’d like to work with him more soon. It’s funny… I’ve recently become obsessed with work. I think I’m getting better at my job at a much quicker rate than before. And almost any free time I have, I’m thinking about what I can learn next, or what I can try and pull off next. It’s kind of an exciting place to be. My horrible sleep schedule is back too. I think it started the week of my experiment, or maybe the week before. I’ll be up way too late for 2 nights, and oversleep, and then the third night completely crash… and oversleep. Kinda sucks, cause I’m trying to get in a schedule. I don’t think I’ve been on a consistent schedule since high school. Also, I promise, I will upload the video of my house soon. I taped it, I just have to capture it. Maybe tomorrow. I think I’ll be at work until about 9 the next 2 days. That doesnt even make me a little sad. Weird, huh? Im still totally into this band called The National… listening to them now. You should too. Check this line. ” Looking for somewhere to stand and stay, I leaned on the wall and the wall leaned away”. Or this one… “You know I dreamed about you, for 29 years, until i saw you. You know I dreamed about you… I missed you for 29 years.” Awesome, this guy is a great writer. Both lines from a song called Slow Show. Anyway, I think that’s all I have tonight. It’s about 1 am…. not too late, but then I dont feel tired. Wish me luck… Ill leave you with a really cool quote I heard.
Cover bands don’t change the world, you gotta find YOUR unique voice.
I promised Smiley Ryan (the head intern) I would make it to the gym today. He wants to start working out, so I said I’d meet him at 8. It wasn’t quite 8, but I made it in, and had a good workout. Then I had a long day ahead of me. Made it into the office at 10. Carl, Leslee and I had a production meeting for this sunday. Should be a good service. I spent the rest of the day editing a couple videos. And I mean the rest of the day. Everybody left at about 4:30 or 5 except me and Jamie. I ran to the store and got some refreshments for us. Then we hit the grind and worked! It was good. Plus, it’s nice when there aren’t a ton of people in the office. I got a ton accomplished and had some good conversation with Jamie. That doesn’t happen enough. So 9 o’clock rolls around. It’s Jason’s bday. That’s right, the very same little buddy whom we had a party for on saturday. Well, we decided to have a smaller get together on his actual b-day. So we went to our favorite bar, Adobe Gila’s, and shot the breeze. It was a good night. After going there, we went to Honey Pot and The Castle. Did some dancing (oh i can cut a rug) and ran into some friends. I think i finally left for home at about 4? I know, that’s a little crazy, but some drama went down that I had to make sure was taken care of. What drama you may ask? Well, I call’s it the black snake moan. And if you don’t know what that is, don’t worry about it. But don’t fret, everything is taken care of.
So as you can imagine, I pretty much slept all day today. I woke up and went to firehouse with bubba jaxn for lunch, went back to sleep, woke up and went to cracker barrel with the rents for dinner. After we watched the prestige together, which is an excellent movie. Now I’m home, and of course wide awake. 2 am, you are my best friend!
Sorry for the delay. I have some stuff to update you guys on. Where to start… I think we left off on wednesday. So I woke up about 7, and promptly fell back asleep. I finally woke back up about 9″30. Needless to say I missed the gym. But I did make it to work on time. Sidebar - I love being a boy, and being able to wake up, brush my teeth, put on deoderant and then head out the door. Awesome. Anyway, work was good. Finished up some video stuff. Then me and the head intern Ryan headed out for yet another long lunch. We went to Selmons, and it was AMAZING! ulled pork, corn bread pudding, smashed potatoes, bbq bread! Best. lunch. ever! It was funny, the waitress totally wanted a piece of both of us. She was doing the whole touching the arm thing and laughing way too hard at all of our jokes… Maybe she just wanted a good tip? Ha ha. As we leave, we get “come back and see me! I’m here everyday for lunch!” We may come back chick, but it will be for the bbq! Ok, I’m done being a jerk. So then we head to party city to get some props for a video shoot I had that night. This video came out pretty hilarious, maybe I will link to it once (if) i get it on youtube. So back to work and finish up the day. I left at about 4:30 and headed to my friend Reid’s house to shoot the video. I was there until about 7:30 or 8. Like I said, I think it went well. Honestly, since I’m now just blogging about this, I don’t really remember what I did the rest of the night. If you’ve been following along, I’m sure you have an idea. But I do remember this:
I was driving home, listening to sad music, being introspective. I started thinking about girls. All the girls I’ve dated or hung out with, and why things haven’t worked. It takes a lot for me to really like someone. Well, I guess that’s not exactly true. I can become attached very quick, but it’s only happened a couple times. I don’t know why, but there haven’t been many girls that have held my attention very long, but for the ones who do i dive in head first, inhibition be damned. One thing that is important to me is my lifestyle. I’ll try and come to some conclusions at the end of the week about what exactly that lifestyle is, but whatever it ends up being, I like it. I want a girl who just natrally wants to fall in and be a part of that. I want her to want to be around me and my buddies. Who wants to hang out with me at my favorite bars. Someone who won’t just try and change me. How cool would it be to come home, order a pizza, and jam out on rock band with your lady? Shoot, if I could have that maybe I’d even watch a chick flick with her after.
Reflections on a scene from the Darjeeling Limited
“Reflections on a scene from the Darjeeling Limited” or “Sometimes all a person has to offer is breakfast”
I just recently re-watched one of my favorite movies. I went to my friend Aaron’s party to see a marathon of Wes Anderson’s films (in chronological order) and so ended with The Darjeeling Limited. I always get something new from this flick, and this time was struck by something I wanted to share.
Disclaimer - There will be spoilers in this if you haven’t seen the movie.
The Darjeeling Limited, like most Wes Anderson films, is about desperate people. In this case, it’s about three brothers. They are, from oldest to youngest, Francis, Peter, and Jack. Francis, played by Owen Wilson, is the eldest and the leader. Well, as much of a leader as he can be. We find out early on the brothers have not spoken in a year. But, as we all know, when it comes to families it’s easy to pick that old dynamic up. So we start the story at the beginning of a journey. Francis has called the brothers together to go on a spiritual journey through India as well as a time for the brothers to reconnect. Little do we (or Peter and Jack) know, it is all a ploy to get the boys together to go after their mom. She has been completely absent from their lives for a year as well. The separation of the characters all dates back to the death of their father. However, through dialogue we come to realize the mom ditching the boys is not exactly a new thing. She was never really there for her sons, and perhaps the boys father was a rich, busy business man (all of the boys seem pretty well off). So, that left Francis to raise them all. Fast forward a bit, and the boys find their way to a Convent where their mom has been living for the past year. They meet, embrace, and have an emotional night where they begin to bring up the past. The boys ask, “where have you been? Why did you leave? Why didn’t you come to dad’s funeral” The trouble is, their mother has no answers for their questions. She stops them and says they should all stop feeling sorry for themselves. She says she wants the past to be over, but it’s clear that’s not yet possible for the boys. They leave each other for the night after making an agreement. They decide to get an early start the next day and make their plans for the future.
The next morning, the boys awake to find breakfast in their doorway, but no signs of their mother. The other sisters at the convent say that she goes away sometimes, and there’s no telling when she’ll be back.
That is the scene that sparked my interest this time. I’m pretty sure the mom loved her sons. I don’t think she wanted anything bad to happen to them. The trouble is, she was so self centered, or maybe so damaged, she literally had nothing to offer her kids. All she could do was make them breakfast and run. The boys were left with only each other. But finally, they realized that was enough. When we’re faced with these situations in life, situations that suck, we need to take stock of what we have and cherish it. Sometimes, we are given exactly what we need. We are just too focused on what we crave to see it right under our noses.