We started out with Question 5, talking about grief and losses we've had, especially the death of friends and/or family. Someone commented that he has had less pain around his grief as he has learned to stop resisting the feeling and just let it be. Someone else told a story about his brother who had been divorced by his wife and consequently felt like he wasn't "good enough," and who had subsequently died from a heart attack. Perhaps not feeling good enough led him to die from a broken heart, several of us suggested.
Then we spent a lot of time on Question 9, talking about what it means to be a hero in our own life. People suggested that it means taking risks, having integrity, and having a goal or mission that given meaning to one's risks. Then somebody suggested that she thinks being a hero is being willing to face one's own emotions and fears and angers, and then to deal with them instead of running away from them or suppressing or repressing them. We also realized that some people don't choose to be a hero in their own life story, and seem to prefer to be a victim instead.
That led us to talking about how we've sometimes been shut down to our own emotions, and/or to the emotions and drama of those around us. We seemed to agree that being a hero isn't just about the classic John Wayne heroism, where we take action to avert a threat without considering or dealing with the long-term repercussions that our actions may have in terms of the emotional reactions of others. Somebody even related that attitude to the behavior of some politicians who seem to take the John Wayne approach and choose to use military force rather than negotiating with people first.
(This video was reviewed by Bob McGarey)
Feel free to come and share your own personal insights sometime; the Saturday Night Video and Discussions here in Austin, Texas are a lot of fun and fascinating. (They're free, too.) Here are the questions the group came up with, based on the personal growth themes in the movie: