Most of you know how I’m spending my summer, so you probably won’t be surprised when I say, earlier this week, I found myself absorbed in the last few scenes of Finding Nemo. It was the part where Marlin and Dory are swallowed by the whale, and they’re hanging onto the tip of the whale’s tongue, trying not to die.
Dory, who insists she can speak whale, says “Okay!” and suddenly lets go. Marlin grabs her by the fin, terrified and quite certain his friend is insane. The rest of the scene plays out like this:
Dory: He says it’s time to let go! Everything’s gonna be alright.
Marlin: How do you know? How do you know something bad isn’t gonna happen?
Dory: I don’t!
Marlin thinks for a second, holds his breath and releases his grip. They fall and are instantly expelled through the blowhole. It may be a kid’s movie, but to me, the scene is quite powerful. Marlin asked Dory something we all want to know whenever we stand on the ledge, faced with a tough choice. How can we be certain nothing bad will happen?
We can’t be certain. But we can choose to live in fear, or we can choose to set ourselves free.
Happy (early) Independence Day, everyone. I hope all of you have a fun and safe holiday weekend. See you next week.
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Yep, sometimes it’s just better to trust and “go with it”. Hope you all have a wonderful long weekend and that you just totally goof off with the boys and S.
Thank you, Lou. Hope you and Miss T have a great weekend, too.
This reminds me of a quote about a teacher who keeps encouraging her students to “come to the edge.” They keep replying “but we’ll fall!” and she keeps encouraging. Finally, they “come to the edge”…and they FLY.
I hope you do lots of flying this summer
It involves a lot of trust! I hope you have a nice “flying” season, too.
That scene from Nemo is the only one I remember from the entire movie, so it must have some deep significance! I love how you wrote about it. And I wonder if our children sort of sense the deeper importance of it in their subconscious
Definitely a good one to demonstrate leadership and how sometimes we just have to go into uncharted territories with our actions.
I know she’s just a fish played by Ellen Degeneres, but Dory is an amazing character. I love how in that simple scene, we learn that living free doesn’t mean never getting hurt.
Love it Angie, I may have to go out and rent that this weekend
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It really is funny. “No eating here tonight. You’re on a diet…”
Love this post. So true.
I also like the part just before this in the movie, where Dory is rolling around all “woo-hoo-hoo!” while Marlin frets and whines and bangs his head against the wall (whale stomach) trying to get on with his task. I tend to be Marlin most of the time — trying to break through the obstacles with my head while complaining about the headache I’m getting — but oh how I wish I were Dory, enjoying the heck out of the ride.
I could use a little more Dory sometimes. But what’s great about that scene, for me, is how she starts to get a bit annoying. Trying to talk to the whale. Even I was like, “Hey fish, chill out.” But then that moment when she says “I don’t!” — it’s so surprising and powerful.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about my struggle with acceptance and letting go. Most of us eventually get to that place of acceptance, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could make it a shorter trip. So many painful hours are spent holding on to things that have already been decided out there in the universe. We just don’t know it yet.
A huge Amen to that. I just applied your comment to what I’m writing about in my memoir, and it’s so true.
Great piece for me…especially this week! Thanks Angie.
And you have so much to celebrate. I hope this week, with the release of your new awesome laptop bag, was like flying out of the blowhole.
I needed this today more than you can imagine. Thank you, Dear. xo
That really means a lot.
Thank you for this post, Angie. It’s exactly what i needed today. In fact, I need it quite often. Maybe you should repost it every other week or so!
I think we all do. It’s comforting and encouraging to know how many people resonate with this.
What an excellent post Angie.
Thank you, James. Happy 4th!
Wishing you a great 4th, celebrating our Freedom
I hope you had an amazing weekend!
This was just perfect. I love it when a few simple words hold the power to freedom. Acceptance, letting go and trust really are the keys, aren’t they? This also reminds me of one of my favorite bloggers, Summer Pierre, who made the words “screw it” her mantra for a year. Every time she felt anxious about something she said “screw it” and went with it – with amazing results. Happy 4th of July, Angie!
Screw it. I love it.
I love this, Angie. It’s my favorite scene from Finding Nemo too and I actually have a Post-It on my mood board above my desk that says “just keep swimming!” I think so many of us want to be able to control everything in our lives and we forget that the Universe/God/Whatever Your Higher Power is has a plan (what’s that quote about making God laugh.,..make plans? Something like that…). I constantly have to remind myself to trust that the Universe knows what it’s doing and the times in my life when I have relinquished control have been the best ones.
Thank you for this comment and providing some clarity re: “something” I’m writing about. And so happy to hear about the serendipity in your life!