...is how much time the Academy Awards program allots winners to deliver their acceptance speeches. 45 seconds....
1,
2,
3,
4,
...tic
toc...
I think that there's a bit of a microcosm of modern life contained therein. I really do.
Think about all of the hard work that goes into stepping into creating a character who seems real...or a movie that comes alive...or about any creation or accomplishment for that matter.
Think about the struggles you've endured to achieve your goals. Now, try to come up with a 45 second summary of just how you got there (to that place for which you are now eternally grateful).
Forest Whitaker said something very powerful that really grabbed my attention and spoke to me in his speech. For one second, I felt like he was saying the exact same thing I've been trying to express whenever I really contemplate about finding meaning in life's great mystery.
This is his whole speech:
"Thank you. Thank you. Just a second, just a second. OK. Take it. OK. I wrote something down, because I thought if it would happen that I would be a little overwhelmed and I am. So, OK. When I was a kid, the only way that I saw movies was from the backseat of my family's car. At the drive-in. And, it wasn't my reality to think I would be acting in movies, so receiving this honor tonight tells me that it's possible. It is possible for a kid from east Texas, raised in South Central L.A. in Carson, who believes in his dreams, commits himself to them with his heart, to touch them, and to have them happen.
Because when I first started acting, it was because of my desire to connect to everyone. To that thing inside each of us. That light that I believe exists in all of us. Because acting for me is about believing in that connection and it's a connection so strong, it's a connection so deep, that we feel it. And through our combined belief, we can create a new reality. So I want to thank my fellow believers in The Last King of Scotland. I want to thank Peter, Jeremy, Andrea, Lisa, Charles, Kevin, James McAvoy, Kerry, Stephen, Fox, DNA, Channel Four. I want to thank the people of Uganda, who helped this film have a spirit. And finally, I want to thank my mom and my dad. I want to thank my wife Keisha, my children, my ancestors, who continue to guide my steps. And God, God who believes in us all. And who's given me this moment, in this lifetime, that I will hopefully carry to the end of my lifetime into the next lifetime. Thank you"
That part in the middle really gets to me. If you've ready some of what I've written, then you know I often contemplate about that connection and about the nature of our shared humanity and the potential contained in all of us to affect change in this world. I almost got to the point where I felt like I was just rambling with that whole notion...but something sparked alive inside of me again. Hearing that speech, I was reminded that maybe other people feel the way I do and at the level I do...immediately I thought of every reason I had to smile (not that I had forgotten about them...but when they all hit you at once, it's kinda like feeling loved).
The world is waking up around me and life is blooming again.
Sometimes you can create a new reality...sometimes two people can do it together--those are the best times of all and come from the biggest dreams of all. I've been sleeping well for quite a few weeks now, and I believe in dreams again.
~sweet destiny~
