When I saw the clip below, I kept nodding and thinking, “You know, if you take out the high-flown language and fanboy reverence for the material… this is what we do. Every <expletive> day. It’s the only way it’s bearable to survive with this level of relentless crap.”
I often remark to fellow chronically ill people that we often have to be superheroes (a more approachable term these days than heroes), not as a matter of ego exercise, but as a matter of survival. That’s just the way it is.
We have to rise above, over and over — rise above circumstances, limitations, wants, and sometimes our very needs.
We have to forgive and forgive and forgive, often without saying a word, just to maintain relationships with less-impaired people and get on with things. How can they understand what it’s like? I wouldn’t (and don’t) wish this on my worst enemy.
They can’t really understand, and nor would I want them to have to. Therefore it’s essential to let most emotional insults and logistical assaults simply slide off. Over and over again. That’s what it takes.
So, for people who are chronically ill and could do with some validation; and for people who seek some insight into what is really required of us and why it’s so flippin’ hard; I present Cinema Therapy discussing the hero’s journey, as demonstrated by one of the most relatable characters any spoonie could wish to find — Frodo Baggins:
I enjoy the Cinema Therapy vlogs because they’re so good-natured, and these two remarkably privileged humans make such an open-hearted effort to be better humans, all the time.