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"In acting, understanding a character’s fears is a critical part of understanding his or her psyche. The fears create desires and the desires precipitate actions. These repetitive actions and predictable responses are the building blocks of great cinematic characters.
It’s pretty much the same in real life. Something bad happens to us, and we decide we’re never going to let that happen again. But in order to prevent it, we have to be a certain way. We choose the behaviors that we believe will deliver safety, stability, and love. And we repeat them, over and over again. In the movies, we call it a character; in real life, we call it personality." WS
It's June 16, 2022 and I just finished "Will"... the book that Oprah claimed as the best memoir ever. That was high praise and it was those words that invited me into reading the autobiography of "The Fresh Prince".
Why did I read this book? Why does this story matter? It's Will Smith... he's a rich, famous American musical TV and Movie star. What can I get out of his story? What do I have in common with Will? Well... after reading his story... I found out I do have something in common with Will
1. We were both born in 1968
2. We both walked our fathers through sickness, vulnerability and then to death.
3. Skydiving and Bungee Jumping... (truth be told, I was younger when I did my jumping than Will was... but his jumps were a little more outrageous and dramatic. (check out the links to see Will's jumps)
4. We both realize that as crazy and painful that it is.... our story matters. (Will's Youtube channel has some great footage of the journey he took during the release of the book)
5. The last chapter or our book of life is entitled Love... because it is the most important thing.
"It is difficult to overestimate the power of a first experience in Africa. Two steps off the airplane, and I’m already crying. I’m not sure if it was my cells or my soul that recognized their origin, but it was visceral and overwhelming. We found a quiet place just outside the airport in Maputo, Mozambique; we all huddled, held hands, knelt down, and kissed the ground. One of the airport workers yelled out from the other side of the fence, “Welcome home, brothers!” " WS
Even through I found a few things I have in common with Will, I am always looking to walk into a story because of what I don't have in common with the author. I am wanting to expand my understanding and learn about a world I know nothing about.
"Memory is not a flawless recording of what actually happened. It’s not a video of your experience. It’s not even a photograph. It is your psychological, artistic rendering. It is more like an abstract impressionist painting of what happened than it is a pure, unfiltered depiction. And it’s not fixed..." WS
I always enjoy the wisdom I can reap from my reads. Will Smith's story is no exception. I am not restricted to finding wisdom from people older than me. Will is six months younger, which almost makes the wisdom special because we are the same age.
"Life is learning. Period. Overcoming ignorance is the whole point of the journey. You’re not supposed to know at the beginning. The whole point of venturing into uncertainty is to bring light to the darkness of our ignorance. I heard a great saying once: Life is like school, with one key difference—in school you get the lesson, and then you take the test. But in life, you get the test, and it’s your job to take the lesson.
We’re all waiting until we have deep knowledge, wisdom, and a sense of certainty before we venture forth. But we’ve got it backward—venturing forth is how we gain the knowledge.
Over the next few years, while our ignorance would rain down a deluge of pain and suffering, when I look back, I see clearly it could have been no other way. The universe only teaches through experience." WS
I usually like to send the author a link to the blog post, but there are some exceptions. Will Smith won't be getting an email from me for obvious reasons of inaccessiblity... but I still want to say thank you. So maybe something in the Cosmos can pass along my appreciation for this contribution to my journey. Because that is what it was.... a contribution.
"There is something strangely clarifying and cleansing about looking into the eyes of someone who has accepted their pending death. The awareness of death bestows profundity and clears all the bullshit out of the way. The finality of it all makes every moment feel infinitely significant. ... Every laugh, every story takes on weight and meaning in that simple fact. Death has a way of transforming the mundane into the magical." WS
There were so many great quotes I could share here, but I would have to copy and paste almost half of the book to get them all in here... so my advise... read the book! It is an adventure and I am thankful for what "Will" taught me as I read this book. I am also thankful that Will opened his personal world and share the stories that inspired him from the people that inspired him, like his grandmother, Gigi.
"To Gigi, “God” and “love” were synonymous; they were inseparable, and indistinguishable. She worshipped God by loving others. Love was the only commandment that mattered—to her, if you were being loving, you wouldn’t need all the others." WS
I do want to mention one thing that bothered me during this read. I was sharing with someone that I was reading this book, and I got an earful about "Will Smith"... I guess there has been media uproar and that seemed to warrant a "Why would you read a book by Will Smith?" Well, I am back to my heart message.... "Every story matters." I didn't need to update myself on the media frenzy in order to enjoy the story. I don't need to defend the authors actions or behaviour to enjoy the story. In this moment... the story is what matters. To invest my time in anything else... would take away from that story. This is the heart of empathy and compassion. I will only get compassion by getting close to a person's story... not the mess of the media.
"I’ve realized that for some reason, God placed the most beautiful things in life on the other side of our worst terrors. If we are not willing to stand in the face of the things that most deeply unnerve us, and then step across the invisible line into the land of dread, then we won’t get to experience the best that life has to offer." WS
I could have ended my post there... but I realize that this is a post about Will Smith and if I didn't include at least one of the moments that made me laugh... I would be missing a big part of his character.
"I lined all of my cars and motorcycles up in front of the house and invited Daddio over so he could see how well I was doing. Daddio pulled up in his two-tone blue Chevy work van. He always believed that vehicles should have a utility. I stood proudly out front as he got out of the van. We hugged.
“I just got the ’Vette last week,” I said.
“These are all yours?” he asked, looking disdainfully at my fresh new fleet.
“Yup,” I said proudly. My arms were respectfully by my side, but in my mind my B-boy stance was on swole.
“Boy, why you need three cars?” he said. “You only got one ass.” " WS (1&2)
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