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Anyways, so we watched a movie the other night called About Time. The movie is about a young man who finds out he can travel back in time, just like his father and grandfather. He uses his powers from time to time to make his life better or fix a situation to play out a little better. He ages through different life stages, all the while using his power to alter things. At the end of the movie, he learns a trick his dad learned from his many years, and that was to relive every day again, except when he lives it the second time, he stops and notices all the good things he missed the first time being caught up in the chaos and frustrations of the day. He perfected that. And then he added to that tip. He just lived each day that way, the first time.
This lesson hit me hard. As you watched the same day play out twice, the first time it appeared stressful and chaotic. The second time it was so fun and beautiful. But it was the same exact day, conversations and interactions. The only thing that changed was his perspective. I loved to see this. We hear all the time how our perspective can "change" a situation. It doesn't actually CHANGE what's unfolding but if we view it differently is can sure SEEM different. You hear people seeing things half empty or half full. But once I saw it played out in this movie, I really saw the impact.
Ronnie lives his days like this. And I now know why he's always happy. While I often am frustrated by how we are stuck in traffic or something is moving slowly, he instead sees it as a nice chance to take in the beautiful sunset. He's thankful he had the extra time to appreciate it. I'll get frustrated that Mckenna is holding us up when we are late by insisting to put on her own shoes, the ones she never can do alone, the ones I can barely put on. Ronnie will sit and smile, enjoying watching her try, try again as she clumsily fumbles with her cute, little, chubby toddler fingers. Ronnie and I will sit in the same room, live through the same circumstance, and he perspective is always that of such delight. In fact, this is part of why I fell in love with him. It's what sets him apart. I even thought enough about it to include it in my wedding vows where I said:
You view the world through a lens that is unique, refreshing, and
most of all, infectious. To you each day is a blessing and each hour is a gift
to be cherished. Because of that, you have taught me how to slow down and truly
take life in. I love that you never let me miss a beautiful sunset, hurry
through a good cup of coffee, or allow days pass without reminding me how
blessed we are.
This movie showed me exactly how he has the perspective he does, and it gave me a goal to work towards. That night I went and grabbed Mckenna from her bed and brought her into ours to snuggle her...granted, we all slept terribly, so I brought her back to her own bed around 3AM...but I tried. Baby steps :)
Anyways, watch the movie if you haven't seen it (Redbox has it). It's a great reminder; a valuable lesson. I hope one day I can view life through Ronnie's (or the main character's) lens, as I think it makes life that much more grand!
