07 Nov Judgment City (ALEX PATTAKOS & ELAINE DUNDON)
To find authentic meaning in our lives, we need courage, which is not the absence of fear but the willingness and ability to walk through the fear—to tread, if you will, into the darkness of life’s labyrinth of meaning. It is during the worst times, through hardship and suffering, that our courage is put to its greatest test. Consider the film Defending Your Life in which director/writer Albert Brooks plays Dan Miller, a successful business executive who delights in taking delivery of a brand-new BMW. Just as he is pulling out of the car dealership, he has the misfortune of crashing into a bus. Dan does not survive the accident and finds himself in the afterlife, in a heavenly way station called Judgment City. Here, Dan discovers that he must stand trial and justify his life in order to either advance to the next, higher plane of existence or be sent back to earth to repeat his life. In a courtroom Dan is shown video clips of his life and asked to defend his actions, especially when fear was most evident. Here is a sample of the dialogue between Dan and his defense attorney, Bob Diamond (played by actor Rip Torn):
Bob Diamond: Being from earth as you are and using as little of your brain as you do, your life has pretty much been devoted to dealing with fear.
Dan Miller: It has?
Bob Diamond: Everybody on earth deals with fear. That’s what little brains do. . . .
Bob Diamond: Did you ever have friends whose stomachs hurt?
Dan Miller: Every one of them.
Bob Diamond: It’s fear. Fear is like a giant fog. It sits on your brain and blocks everything. Real feeling, true happiness, real joy, they can’t get through that fog. But you lift it and, buddy, you’re in for the ride of your life.
As the Bob Diamond character explains, most people only use 3 to 5 percent of their brain’s potential, limiting themselves because of their fears. They can’t see past their fears, nor can they see the deeper meaning in the small moments of their lives, which robs them of experiencing the beauty and fullness of life. Many of us can relate to Dan Miller’s character and might even wonder what video clips would be shown at our own trial should we end up in Judgment City, having to defend our life!
Many people don’t want to explore the meaning of situations in which they find themselves, as shown in the example of Michelle and in Dan Miller’s character. More often than not, people fear what they might uncover, what they might have to address. They simply “can’t go there.” Many people do not want to confront their weaknesses, choosing instead to ignore them or, worse yet, to blame others.
PRISONERS OF OUR THOUGHTS
ALEX PATTAKOS Ph.D. &ELAINE DUNDON
