Tuesday, January 9, 2018

My Thoughts on The Shawshank Redemption, Andy or Red...

So I watched The Shawshank Redemption last night, I know, it's rated R, so it took me a while to decide to watch it, there are only a few R movies I have ever watched in my life, another one is The Pianist, and the Passion of The Christ, both of which I highly recommend, The Pianist being a movie that is set during the Holocaust, and it shows some of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis, which is how it got it's R rating. The Passion of the Christ shows all of the abuse that Christ underwent, it's quite bloody (understatement), but basically shows what it was most likely actually like for Christ to go through that for us. I highly recommend both movies.

Back to Shawshank Redemption, It's a great movie, but it has a lot of language, as I can only imagine would be the case in a maximum security prison. However, it was nothing compared to many days in High School that I remember, and I feel like in this case it helped to illustrate the situation as it probably really would have been, which was necessary to the message of the movie.

It's a hard movie to watch, but in the end it shows how the indomitable will of the human spirit cannot be broken if one wills for it to not be broken. It also shows how one who's will is broken, can be restored through hope and kindness as shown by another. In other words we can make a difference. It also shows pure evil, the warden, I have no words to describe how I felt about that character. The fact that he covers it over with the Bible and Christianity, creates basically a rouse around religion that hides his insidious under side. This is what gives religion today a bad rap. So many hypocrites have used religion to hide their true selves, their bad choices, and their pure evil.

As for myself, I can honestly say that I have made mistakes, I have messed up and made poor choices in my life, AND I have paid a high price for those mistakes. I continue to pay a high price, AND I have done my best to clean that up and make changes in my life. I have grown closer to God through all of it. I have also learned not to judge others, I simply don't have enough knowledge about life in general, and about individuals to ever be able to pass a good judgement. So I will leave that to God. The great thing about that is that now I understand more what unconditional love means. If I don't have to spend time judging, I can just love others for who they are. I can love them for all their good parts and see them through all of their bad parts. It's my bad parts that have helped me to become better. Making mistakes and learning from them, choosing better paths when I don't like the outcomes, and working to be the man I want to be, and them and God knows I can be.

I love the final scenes where Red is looking for the obsidian rock, and digging up the tin. I love that the note was obviously placed there by Andy after he escaped, I love that he had the forethought to watch out for his friend, plant the seeds for his friend's redemption before he escaped. I think the Shawshank Redemption is not about Andy, I think it's about Red, and his redemption. MEN CAN CHANGE, many don't, but ALL have within them the capacity to change, and sometimes it just takes another, crossing their path and walking with them for a while, to make the change possible, for them to SEE that it is possible. We all can help each other out on this journey called life. It's so full of hard things, but we are not alone, and most of all, for me, my trials have found many friends, and most importantly, they have helped me to build a strong relationship with God and Christ.

I want to say too, that I feel like every soul on this planet is known to God, he loves every one, and he knows what each one needs in order to get back to him, and he helps them to have what they need. In other words, I do believe that there is truth, and that we will all find that truth, but every person has their own journey to that truth, everyone has their own path, and I believe that God is there ready to lead each soul on their individual path, we all get to choose whether we will follow or if we will choose our own ways. That is God's gift to us, the gift of choice.

As the movie ended I found myself talking to God, asking him to help me, and to allow me to be an Andy to someone. To make a difference in as many lives as I can before I die, in whatever way God wants me to make that difference. My thoughts turned to my kids, I can be the best dad that I can to them, and help them develop their own relationships with God, in their own time, when they are ready. I can help them on their path to find truth, and most of all I can make sure that they know that their dad loves them. I can do the same as an Uncle, Brother, Son, Friend, etc... Someday I hope that I can also do that as a Husband, we will see what God has in store for my life.

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