Today I watched the movie Brooklyn, which is a beautiful classically romantic story of love. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but it got me thinking about life and the people we call family and the places we call home.
Have you ever met someone, or perhaps you are related to someone, who would choose to ignore your happiness to get something they need? A so-called friend who would spread a rumor about you just to have something to talk about? A father who would rather you stay close to the “family” because it would make him happy over seeing you go away to school? A husband who would have you earning less than him to satisfy his own ego?
Do you know people like this? Do you call them family?
In the movie, the main character, Eilis Lacey, an Irish immigrant confronts people, culture, and a community who would like her to live a life to suit them and make them feel more comfortable. In contrast, her sister who loves her very much, seeks out opportunity to help her on to a better life.
“The persistent feeling that this movie so beautifully creates is that even when the world is bestowing blessings upon us, it’s still at the bottom a sad place, and the key to an emotionally healthy existence involves some rooted acceptance of that. The movie ends with Eilis having made some substantial steps to that accepting place, and also determined to move purposefully forward.” – Roger Ebert review quote
This film reminded me that sometimes we must go against our family, our culture, and our community to do what we know is right for us. We often find ourselves pressured into doing what others would like us to do, and we forgo the life we’d imagined for ourselves. I hope that this film inspires people to find a path for themselves, over one that is selected for them. The film, Brooklyn, is a must see – a story filled with old-fashioned romance interwoven with sage advice.
It’s nice when you know that the people who support your choices are standing right next to you out of love, and as a result they become your family, blood related or not, and home is cultivated with the family you purposefully create.
My family is my ever supportive and loving husband, and our sweet dog Molly. They are where I feel most at home. May you always find yourself in the company of the kind of love that wishes to see you succeed, not hold you back.