Life is Like...a Movie

Life is like a movie. Whether it is good or bad, long or short is more a question of individual preference than industry positioning. Some movies unanimously fall into the category of tragedy while many others get classified as a comedy. Some go like a slow drama, some, melodrama while many are too action-packed to be a drama. And, of course, some are labeled as horror and some simply are horrible. Some are thrilling while many others, grilling. Once in the cinema hall, you seem to have little choice.

Regardless of how bogus the movie, you rarely choose to quit. You feel you may as well sit through it since you have paid for it. Some people choose to commit movicide — they leave in between consciously. Sometimes, the movie is just too good. Oh! but the rowdy ones behind must comment on every scene all the while kicking your seat with each movement of their wobbly legs. Not to mention the guy next to you, the one who is on a mission to exhaust the nation’s corn chips supply, keeps munching with loud crackling sounds as at an apocalypse.

To top it all, you may have well-behaved creatures in the row in front who are slurping their cola like the hiss of an anaconda. They have decided to release all the locked-up cola in the mini glaciers in the glass by shaking it vigorously, almost like micro-global-warming. You feel helpless, perhaps frustrated. Your attempts to ignore it all and focus on the movie offer you little consolation. Similarly, such is life.

There are some factors in your control while many others seem completely out of bounds. You learn to live with some as a matter-of-fact and some others you struggle with. But let me share a secret: you can change the movie whenever you want, absolutely at will. A change in the movie will automatically bring about a change in the audience that surrounds you.

You would not really take your kids to a horror movie classified beyond their present age, for example. The noisy guys are unlikely to be found in a romantic movie and so forth. The movie of life, while projected on a screen you can see externally, is undoubtedly your own choice.

Your mind is the powerful projector playing the reel of your thoughts. And this projector is powered by the vital life force (prana) in your breath. If your mind is under control, you can change the reel to your liking. And if your breath is under control you can simply pause or turn off the projector at will.

I have not only shared an important secret with you, but I have also exposed, in clear terms, albeit briefly, the most important yogic secret. Go on enjoy! Have a nice time at the movies. How about pitting the Pitt and colonizing the Clooney for a change! Play your own movie, the one you like, the one that delights you, uplifts you and boosts your spirits. Play it on your own terms, in your preferred setting; watch it in your private hall, arranged and serviced as per your preference. That is how I watch it!

Care to join me, anyone?

Peace.
Swami