I saw The Proposal last night in Eindhoven, Holland. It was great! Hilarious and almost realistic. Anyway, last night as I was falling asleep, I realized something. I realized that we can change in a very short period of time...a day or two. In most cases, change is not a microwave process. In some cases, however, I've seen how a short-lived meaningful experience can have truck-loads of effect.
So, in The Proposal, Sandra Bullock bribes her assistant to marry her so she doesn't get deported back to Canada. She ends up being forced to go to Alaska to hang with his family. The whole experience is dreadful--she is this cut-throat, workaholic editor, who doesn't seem to know what love or tenderness are--until her hubby-to-be's family loves on her and melts her ice-queen world. They actually turn it upside down. She realizes that she had been protecting herself from feeling any emotions since her parents died when she was sixteen. Anyway, before ruining the movie for you, I basically want to say that an Alaskan, family experience outside of cut-throat New York really affected Sandra's life in just a few days. And, I swear, that isn't just a Hollywood-get-your-point-out-in-two-hours manoeuvre. Because it's happened to me.
In 2004, I went to Kenya. I remember arriving feeling like, "Ok, I'm here, and this is awesome. But I may get malaria, there is no hot water, our house is lit by candlelight, and I have to put a mosquito net around my bed every night. So, I want to experience everything this has to offer but go home tomorrow!!!" I wrote something along those lines in my journal when I first arrived.
What is so cool, though, is that the entry in my journal the next day was completely different. I was renewed and inspired because we had an incredible day. After meeting some people that were changing the face of Narok town (a city west of Nairobi) by taking in a bunch of lost boys and putting them through school, I was moved. I had never witnessed anything like it at 19 years old. What I learned and the way I was moved by the amazing people I met changed me. In a day.
And then it happened again last summer. I went away for only four days and was changed forever. I experienced love and hospitality like I had never ever experienced at the Goff's Lodge in British Columbia. I had never met strangers who genuinely cared about me, who were really happy to serve me a meal, and who simply considered me a gift to them. In retrospect, it really affected me.
So, again, last night as I was falling asleep, I realized I liked The Proposal so much because I thought it taught a true lesson. As soon as we are put in a place of love outside of our comfort zones, our worlds get rocked almost instantaneously.
So, this is what I think we need to do more often.
Instead of chillin' and doing the usual, say yes to something that is completely outside of your normal experiences. If that thing emanates love, you will be changed in no time.
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