Hello dear friends!
OK, so I promise this whole “movie quote” thing isn’t going to become a habit. I just watched this film with my wife, and it has become my favourite Iron Man film ever. And I found a few deeper lessons buried within.
My initial lesson or motivation for this IQ was to simply expound the virtues of taking time out from the everyday. There’s a simple bliss in stepping back from life, escaping into a make-believe world (thanks Hollywood) and spending some quality time being lightly entertained by a fantasy.
Being serious all the time is a total drag.
Being able to explore a story, be taken for a journey, and be thrilled with a suspenseful action film filled with superheroes and their character flaws, is an absolute joy. I thoroughly recommend it, and encourage you all to find some time, tune out from the world for a while and enjoy a film, a book, a concert… something to inspire you and take you on a different journey.
That is the message I originally wanted to convey. And THEN I found this quote from the film, and it made me think in a whole new way about today’s IQ.
“I have to protect the one thing I can’t live without. That’s you.”
In the film, Tony Stark said this to Pepper Potts, the love of his life. I feel the same way about my wife and my children, and I have recently made many life choices that put my relationships with my wife and children first above all else.
But here’s the interesting thing. Tony Stark could equally have been saying it to his true, deeper self.
Since I shared this post, I have been exploring the realm of loving and nurturing myself intentionally, deeply, and as authentically as I can. It’s not easy. Lots of stuff gets in the way. It takes a while to build a new habit, and old habits (like beating up on ourselves) can take a while to break… but I’m getting there.
I nurtured myself recently at a Oneness Blessing evening at Oneness Cafe in Coogee. It was a gift from my wife, for me to take a night out and give myself some loving. The evening included a Chakra-based meditation and the Oneness Blessing. (Google it.) I cannot tell you properly just how amazing the experience was, and how clear, calm and peaceful I felt (and continue to feel) as a result. I haven’t felt like this for a few weeks, maybe even months.
Why am I sharing this? It’s a case-in-point for the OTHER lesson from tonight’s film. Which is this:
Protect your inner self. Nurture yourself. LOVE yourself. You’re the only you you’ve got, and you deserve to be loved by yourself as well as by others. You can’t live a whole, fulfilling life of any sort if you don’t love yourself. If you try, you will be a hollow echo of yourself, at best.
So, how are you looking after yourself? What do you do to love your own self? Please leave a comment and let me know. Or, if commenting isn’t your thing, please hit me up at israel@israelsmith.com. I’d love to hear from you, and I promise I’ll respond – even if it takes me a little while. (Go on, try it out…)
With love – for myself, and for you.
Israel. xo