Forrest Gump - That's All I Got To Say About That
Fun Fact: John Travolta was the original actor and passed on the film, opting to star in Pulp Fiction instead. He's since admitted that he regrets his decision. Other actors considered for the role were Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Sean Penn.
It's hard for me to imagine Forrest Gump without Tom Hanks as the protagonist.
1. Must be hard being a king.
It must be difficult in maintaining that false sense of self.
It must be difficult parading around like we're this or we're that - when we neither.
It must be difficult sitting high up on our thrones for the world to admire and see.
It must be difficult when we can't be honest with how we really feel on the inside.
2. I've worn a lot of different shoes.
We believe that our stories are unique.
We believe that our "hardships" in life trump those of our friends or colleagues.
Each of us has worn a lot of different shoes. If only we could somehow realize the truth - in a world of duality - we all suffer.
3. Mama Gump knew a thing or two. You're the same as everybody else.
Mama Gump was able to see past Forrest's physical limitations (leg braces) and instill the Truth in him at an early age. God didn't make any crippled, handicapped, or disabled people.
4. Run Forrest Run!
We all have a little Forrest in us. We want to remove the shackles from our life so that we're able to run free.
In Forrest's case, the shackles were braces - our shackles happen to be all of the grievances we carry around. All the venom we spew onto others in an attempt to try and make them be our problem.
5. We only see the outer shell.
We don't know another's environment and what they may be struggling with.
Did she spend the night being overpowered by a pedophile?
Maybe Jenny's father loved her too much, he was always kissing and hugging her.
Is her life so unbearable that she longs to be a bird so that she can fly away?
We can never know the plight of another.
6. Forrest is the ultimate case study to illustrate how to bloom where you're planted.
Back crooked as a question mark? No problem
Racism? Hey, miss, you dropped your book.
Ever played football before? No, but I can run fast.
Vietnam War? Got that.
Ping Pong? Don't take your eye off the ball. No problem
Shrimping boat business? I'll be the best partner you've ever known.
7. So pure. Innocence. A master at riding the wave.
.
8. A local idiot.
The so-called local idiot had all the things the world was searching for:
He had fame, popularity (All-American), wealth, and love but it was of little importance to Forrest.
Who's the real idiot?
9. Jenny. "What am I going to be? singer/actress
Forrest: "Ain't I going to be me?"
Jenny spent the better part of her life chasing a state of being while Forrest followed the clues by just being himself and life unfolded for him with effortless ease.
10. We go together like peas and carrots.
Jenny - Bubba - Lieutenant Dan - Mama Gump (Peas and Carrots)
Every relationship has the potential to come together like peas and carrots.
These are such beautiful relationships - wouldn't you agree?
11. Yes, Drill Sergeant!
Imagine a world where the only response to kindness, empathy, compassion, and love was..
Yes, Drill Sergeant!
12. Bubba: You know why we make a good partnership, Forrest?
Because we got each other's back. We look out for each other.
Who's got your back?
Who's looking out for you and who are you looking out for?
It's the only ingredient needed for a successful partnership.
13. Jenny: Why are you so good to me?
Forrest: Because you're my girl.
I dated a nice girl once and nothing I did for her was enough. She would often question my motives as Jenny did with Forrest.
Her thermostat for love was set to an embarrassing low range and if the love she received exceeded a level she was comfortable with her senses would immediately kick on to bring it back down to what she was most comfortable with.
It did not matter if she was suffering or not her thermostat would always kick on in the form of - Why are you so good to me? I'm not deserving of such love and kindness. Imagine that.
14. Lieutenant Dan: What's wrong with your lip? Bubba: I was born with big gums, sir.
Bubba didn't respond with anger or attack. It was just a question and Bubba answered the question with elegance.
Being born with "big gums" is the reality of the situation. It is was is so. Denying it or becoming angry if someone inquired about his lip wasn't going to change the fact that Bubba had big gums.
I've noticed how I've become angry (projected my anger onto someone) when the only thing that occurred was someone was asking me a question.
What a lesson.
15. Jenny: "What's wrong with you?"
Forrest: Nothing, at all I'm fine and dandy.
Would you believe me if I told you that self-improvement was a myth?
Would you believe me if I told you that you were fine and dandy just as you are Right Now?
Is it that you need to change something about yourself or that you just don't see who you really are because the stuff that is not you is covering the REAL YOU up?
16. Nathan Bedford Forrest
Forrest Gump was named after Nathan Bedford Forrest who was a prominent Confederate Army general during the American Civil War and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan from 1867 to 1869. His mother kept the last name (Forrest) to remind Gump that sometimes we do things that just don't make sense.
We too have a reminder that we do things (and say things) that sometimes just don't make sense:
Emotional Guidance System - a feedback loop.
A good thing (if we pay attention to what it's showing us) to have because we do a bunch of stuff that makes absolutely no sense.
17. "Let me say this: being a idiot is no box of chocolates,"
"People laugh, lose patience, treat you shabby. Now they say folks are supposed to be kind to the afflicted, but let me tell you - it ain't that way. Even so, I got no complaints, cause I reckon I done lived a pretty interesting life, so to speak"
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