Acknowledging A Special Treat

Going to see a movie has always been a very special treat for me and in more recent years perhaps it is the wide screen, those very comfortable lounge style chairs, the sensational surround sound, the larger than life images of the characters on screen and even the chance to indulge myself in some popcorn and a choc top that makes it even more of a treat.

I also have some wonderful memories of the days when I was a young boy and my mum took me to a Saturday matinee. I will never forget that she would often buy me a packet of chocolate Jaffas to eat during the movie. I would always discretely drop one or two onto the timber floor during the movie and then giggle quietly as they rolled all the way down to the front of the theatre making a clattering noise on the timber floor. I am sure this boyish prank upset many of the older members of the audience, as well as my mum.

Even to this day there has always been a ritual that I go through once I get seated in the theatre which involves looking around to see if I know anyone, then as the lights dim I will dig into the box of popcorn or devour that choc top whilst watching the customary advertisements and trailers of movies that are about to be launched. As the lights fully dim and the screen expands to full viewing size I always settle back into that comfortable seat in anticipation of what is to follow over the next one and a half to two hours.

In the majority of cases I enjoy the movies I go to see and usually have just a hint of chocolate on my mouth and the remains of spilt popcorn, sprinkled all over my lap as the lights come up and the credits roll. I always sit there for just a minute or two reflecting on the movie and its message, often with a hint of a tear in my eye if the movie has had a very sad or touching ending. Then up I get and return to the reality of the outside world where I can further contemplate what I have just seen or discuss it with my family and friends.

I have always liked to watch the movie credits so that I could see the names of all the cast that I don't know or to find out the name of a particular song that I enjoyed. I have never really stopped to think very deeply about the importance of the movie credits and what they really mean, however, at the end of the last movie I went to see I sat engrossed in the credits which lasted for around two minutes and as I got up to leave, I realised that there was not one person left in the theatre except for my wife and myself. All of those people we had joined to watch the movie had quickly got up and left, some as I recall, even before the credits had started.

Often in life the enjoyment of the moment or the event is all that matters and we can be guilty of quickly moving on and forget to take a minute or two to reflect on and acknowledge those who have made all that enjoyment possible. At that instant, watching those credits meant more than just looking out for the cast members name or song title and the following quote from Samuel Goldwyn had a new meaning for me..."When someone does something well, applaud! You will make two people happy."

Even though I was not applauding as I watched those movie credits, at least I was taking time to acknowledge and pay my respects in a very small way to all those talented and hard working people both in front and behind the camera, who have given me my two hours of movie enjoyment, as well as a special treat. Hopefully my silent acknowledgement will make them happy, as it did for me.

Keith Ready

Inspired by The Worlds Fastest Indian

Keith Ready is an Australian based business adviser and trainer whose specialty is working with his clients to improve top and bottom line business performance in a measurable way, through people. You can visit his website at: www.agiftofinspiration.com.au and he can be contacted via email at: info@agiftofinspiration.com.au

Writers Note

Choc tops are a delicious range of flavoured dipping compounds for Soft Serve or Scoop Ice Cream cones which leave a thin, flavoursome and crackley coating on the cones.

Jaffas are a small round sweet consisting of a soft chocolate centre with a hard covering of orange flavoured and coloured candy. Jaffas have often been sold in movie theatres and have gained iconic status because of the noise made when they are dropped (accidentally or deliberately) and rolled down sloping wooden floors.

Why Not Try Dancing?

Often we merely exist in a world that was meant for living. Frequently we let the world revolve around us, when we should be part of the motion. Too many times we sit when we should be dancing. It is easy to watch from the stands, cheering for a winning team, when we could be one of the players.

Fear, lack of motivation, and anxiousness suffocates us and puts out the fire, stifling our willingness to embrace all of life that is available to us. We watch the picture play out on a real life screen, placing ourselves in the scenes merely by wishful thinking, not by motivational endeavors. Our theater seats have become too comfortable.

How many times have you watched others do what you long to do?

How many times have you desired to venture out where other people have traveled?

How many times have you wished to see more, do more, and become more than you are?

There is always risk. There are always the jitters and nervous stress that precedes anything unknown. An eagle does not fly, reaching heights of grandeur, if he does not leave the nest. No, to reach heights of grandeur, one must step forward, reach out and leave the spot that is comfortable. It is leaving the secure for the unknown that has enabled man to fly, to break the sound barrier and to walk on the moon.

It was with determination and repeated attempts after denials and rejections that great novels have been published. It is with training and hard work, after defeats, that records have been broken. After conquering an endeavor, new goals have been set for others to achieve.

Often, a step out results in the next step being a step backwards and people tend to fear regression when they experience motion. Not all falling away or pruning is failure. Sometimes it is when one has trimmed off the nonessentials, clipped the mistakes, looked at situations from other angles, that growth is speedy and branches out with a new vigor. Yes, sometimes even regression can be progression.

When we slow down and make a change we are often able to reach our goals even quicker, for it is then we are able to see more clearly. To conquer, you must risk defeat. To gain, one must risk loss. To achieve, one has to realize there is failure; defeat, loss and failure or not in and of themselves the end. No - quitting is the end. To quit, in essence, is to stop living.

To just exist in a world where there is great potential would be like dying a slow agonizing death, if life to you simply means breathing and not enthusiastically participating. Why not try dancing? Maybe you've never danced before and at first you'll miss a few steps - that's okay; you're working on forward motion, not perfection!

Great strides are not made without a few stumbles, a few missteps. A person can not dance to a song without feeling the beat; so move with the music. Make life a song! Life is ever moving; you decide the direction. Are you moving forward or is the world revolving around you? Life can not be lived to completeness when you are not part of the motion.

Forward motion does not necessarily mean vigorous activity or boisterous verbal proclamations. It can be doing big things in small ways. It can be doing significant activities in a quiet unassuming manner. It can be making great strides doing for other people and taking no credit.

Look at the way Mother Teresa and Rosa Parks lived their lives; they made a difference in this world. They were mild-mannered soft spoken people who did not seek notoriety for themselves. They did, though, take giant steps forward that made a difference in so many other people's lives, for generations to come. Mother Teresa and Rosa Parks danced to the tune of a dedicated life, in steps taken for others, to make a better life for so many people. Their music will live on in history books.

Most of us will not be recorded in history books, we will not win the Nobel Peace Prize, or perhaps even have our name recognized, but we can dance to the music of life and make a difference for ourselves and other people in this world.

Are you letting the world revolve around you, watching others make a difference?

Do you just exist in a world that is made for living?

Why not get out of your theater seats and join in the motion - try dancing to the music of life. You can make a difference; play your own special tune, dance your own special dance!

When your day on this earth has ended, let it be said "You Made a Difference," you lived life and "You Danced Your Own Special Dance!"

Betty King

Betty King is the author of two books, It Takes Two Mountains to Make a Valley, and But - It Was in the Valley's I Grew. She is also a Life Style and Devotional newspaper columnist and freelance writer and speaker. Her writings can be found in several Chicken Soup books. Her website is www.bettyking.net or email her at baking2@charter.net