Big Fish



National Aquarium, Baltimore

My Daffodils bloomed this weekend making me want to watch Big Fish.   I like it because it's fun and Ewan McGregor getting the snot beat out of him in a field of daffodils is pretty sappy and sweet.  I guess I really am a romantic at heart.
In the movie the main character Edward Bloom talks about how fish grow to their environment.  I did some research and that's only partially true. Fish will continue to grow unless something stunts their growth.  Being confined in a small space will do this. Stunting actually hurts the fish and shortens its life.
The good thing is that, unlike fish, people have choices.  You can't change circumstances, but you have the power to control your actions and reactions.  I've seen people pack big lives in small spaces. In big areas, people will still live small, selfish lives.
 People think they have to leave home to grow, but it's more of how you choose to live.  You could have the normal story life--but where would the fun in that be?  I'd rather the story with a field of daffodils and  Big Fish. 

Colorful Fish Community

There's also the novel Big Fish: a Novel of Mythic Proportions, by Daniel Wallace.  It's a great read.

Oh, come on. I can't go back, I'm a human sacrifice. If I go back they'll think I'm a coward. I'd rather be dinner than a coward.~ Edward Bloom
 
Are you letting something stunt you?  What can you change about it?

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Somebody has to be It...

A few weeks ago a friend and I were talking about how hard it is to find the right person.  I was talking about the kind of guys I like and using famous men as examples.  She said "yeah, like we have a chance with them." 
That statement's been bugging me since she said it because my response was "why not?" 
I mean, seriously, why not?
Somebody has to do it. 
What do the women who date them have that I don't?  Only proximity.  Their advantage is they are in a place where they can get to know these guys. My chosen career path doesn't put me in the same circles.  But if it did I'd have the same chance as they do.  I'm certainly not saying I'm better than them or that I'd even really want to date one of them.   What's to say they're even good enough for me? 
What I am saying is we all have something important to offer.  We're all good enough. 
My friend was selling herself short.  It's a common thing we do and I'm not sure why.  Where's the rule book that tells who the privileged people are and who gets to date them? 
It's not just in relationships.  What about careers?  Why does one have more prestige than another? I can say from personal experience that, while I love to watch a goalie make an awesome save, right now the most important person to me is the guy who knows how to get my truck running again. 
What about appearances?  Who says super skinny is sexy? Who says paying three times as much for something that only covers a tenth of my body is even smart, let alone fashionable? 
Why is a person good enough to entrust with kids' educations but not good enough for  someone who won an Academy Award? 
Who makes these crazy rules? 
 I'm not terribly impressed with merely being famous.  It's not in what you do but how you do it.  Give me integrity, courage, and confidence any day. 
Don't settle for less than the best.  Don't let others try to impose rules that limit you.
Somebody has to write the next best seller.  Somebody has to make the next birdie. And somebody has to date those who do these things.
Why not me? Why not you? 

Tag.  You're it!