"...fear, that's the worst of it."
I'm not much of a TV watcher (with the exception of "Survivor," to which I'm addicted). I'd rather read or write, or (yes, I'll admit it), lurk and browse - not in real life, mind you (I'm not that odd...yet) - on the internet. But I have a couple of teenaged boys - and a husband, to boot - and they are most decidedly TV watchers.
A few days ago they discovered a marathon on AMC (I just had to ask my husband for the name of the station, because I had no idea - does that sound right? Is AMC a station? When I was a kid, we had three...). Anyway, apparently "Breaking Bad" was going to be shown back-to-back for several thousand hours. That might be an exaggeration. But it might not be. Not sure.
So after several evenings of talking to myself while my loved ones yelled at the TV, I started paying attention. And you know what? I got sucked in.
What an absolutely fascinating study of how bad decisions lead to bad decisions and lies lead to more lies. What fascinated me more, though, was the way the protagonist changed and emerged. From a somewhat geeky, scholarly kind of guy, to a narcissistic adrenaline junky.
I seriously disliked him by the end, but I love this quote:
"I have spent my whole life scared, frightened of things that could happen, might happen, might not happen, 50-years I spent like that. Finding myself awake at three in the morning. But you know what? Ever since my diagnosis, I sleep just fine. What I came to realize is that fear, that’s the worst of it. That’s the real enemy. So, get up, get out in the real world and you kick that bastard as hard you can right in the teeth." – Walter White
I wouldn't go as far as he did. I wouldn't recommend, you know, killing, drug dealing, and other illegal stuff. But he did have a point, don't you think? How many of us are kept from acting on our dreams by fear? Want to write? Then write. Want to paint? Then paint. Want to travel? Do it. While time might be infinite, our time is not. We can grow old thinking of all the things we meant to do, or we can do them.
It's our choice.
A few days ago they discovered a marathon on AMC (I just had to ask my husband for the name of the station, because I had no idea - does that sound right? Is AMC a station? When I was a kid, we had three...). Anyway, apparently "Breaking Bad" was going to be shown back-to-back for several thousand hours. That might be an exaggeration. But it might not be. Not sure.
So after several evenings of talking to myself while my loved ones yelled at the TV, I started paying attention. And you know what? I got sucked in.
What an absolutely fascinating study of how bad decisions lead to bad decisions and lies lead to more lies. What fascinated me more, though, was the way the protagonist changed and emerged. From a somewhat geeky, scholarly kind of guy, to a narcissistic adrenaline junky.
I seriously disliked him by the end, but I love this quote:
"I have spent my whole life scared, frightened of things that could happen, might happen, might not happen, 50-years I spent like that. Finding myself awake at three in the morning. But you know what? Ever since my diagnosis, I sleep just fine. What I came to realize is that fear, that’s the worst of it. That’s the real enemy. So, get up, get out in the real world and you kick that bastard as hard you can right in the teeth." – Walter White
I wouldn't go as far as he did. I wouldn't recommend, you know, killing, drug dealing, and other illegal stuff. But he did have a point, don't you think? How many of us are kept from acting on our dreams by fear? Want to write? Then write. Want to paint? Then paint. Want to travel? Do it. While time might be infinite, our time is not. We can grow old thinking of all the things we meant to do, or we can do them.
It's our choice.
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Love that one, Malcolm! We have to own it before we can overcome it. Thanks for stopping by.
"Own it" sounds like something a psychologist would say.
Malcolm wrote: ""Own it" sounds like something a psychologist would say."You think? :-D
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune