Pain

After watching Valentine's Day last night with my girlfriends I got to thinking about pain, suffering, knowledge and outcome.

When we were little, it didn't matter how many times our parents would tell us not to do something. "Don't rock on your chair," "Don't jump on the bed," "Stop eating sand!"

No matter how many times our parents would advise us to stop doing something stupid, we only ceased to stop once we'd been hurt: once our chair flipped backwards, once we fell head-first off the bed, once we choked on a seashell.

What makes us ignore advice until we figure it out the hard way?

Is it curiosity, stubbornness or plain stupidity?

The same applies for friends in dead-end relationships. "Don't call him back," "Don't let him talk to you like that," "He will hurt you again."

We tend to advise our friends as much as we can to save them from pain. In fact, we go to great lengths: threatening to cut their boyfriend's balls off, taking our friends' phones away, being totally harsh and honest with our friends... through repetition we become frustrated.

Why don't people listen?

In the movie last night, Ashton Kutcher advised his best friend not to hop on a plane to surprise her boyfriend because he had recently found out that he was married.

After her best friend told her he had witnessed this infidelity with his own eyes, she chose to go anyway.

Why?

Why put yourself through it all when somewhere, deep, deep down you know that all of this pain and suffering is just prolonging an ugly fate?

Perhaps it is the curiosity that resides in almost every human. Perhaps without pain or suffering we wouldn't realize how lucky we are when we do find something good.

Perhaps we must lose to win. We must learn the hard way.

I can pretty much guarantee that when ten good friends are telling one friend not to date a certain someone anymore she will mentally block out every single thing they say... until she is ready.

Until she's been hurt enough. Until there is absolute sufficient damage done.

So while everyone is on their own time and may have to contrive quite a few more bumps and bruises along the way, one of the most difficult parts of the whole pain/suffer experience may be having to watch your friend go through it.

While our friend will eventually understand that their relationship is in the ruins, we must understand that this process may be long and that it is now more than ever that they need us the most.

Listen Learn Love

How to Marry a Millionare

After watching How to Marry a Millionare three times in the past two weeks, I've found myself recklessly in love with the movie.

This romantic comedy, made in 1953, was never one of my most favourite Marilyn Monroe movies, but seemed innocently sweet enough to buy a few years ago. Up until several weeks ago, I'd only watched it twice and never quite noted just how lovely a movie it truly is.

A story about three women looking to marry millionaires in order to rid themselves of debts and other financial issues blossoms into an adorably classic plot. Schatze, the wiser of the three ladies, steams up a brilliant plan to make millionaires fall in love with each of the girls, so that they will soon marry and live the luxurious lives they wanted ever so much.

One thing stood in their way however: love.

Love does conquer all - especially in this movie, as each girl ends up falling head over heels over what they perceive to be blue collar, average-Joe's.

As much as the girls planned and hoped to fall in love with someone who could rid them of their financial difficulties, they end up finding men who fill their hearts with joy - instead of their bank accounts with money.

This movie though made decades ago, shadows the same unrealistic dreams of the Perfect Man women hope for. Women today are still planning and hoping to fall in love with a perfectly painted imaginary man.

Girls wish for men with money, men with looks, men with the same values, men who are romantic, men who are athletic, men who have a particular eye colour, a particular hair colour, a particular height...

When it comes down to it however, we fall for whoever it is our heart skips a beat for.

Blue collar, white collar... no collar at all...

This Is It... This is Wow

Over the weekend I was privileged to have the opportunity to see "Michael Jackson's This Is It."

Michael Jackson, though seen in many different ways by the public, has always been a star in my eyes. Considering I never met him in person, I feel a huge sense of mourning for him. I'm so very happy and grateful that this movie was released for the public to view.

This movie showed a side of Michael that very few people had the chance to see. We were let into this whole new world of his: his professional realm. I felt as though I had a backstage pass to the whole production that he was working so hard on. It was amazing. I was in complete awe when seeing his professional manner. He truly was a remarkable person.

This movie showed how Michael poured his heart and soul into his passion. It displayed his endless devotion to creating a perfect experience for every single audience member.

After the movie, my father, a man who has appreciated MJ's music but has never, ever - ever - said a good thing about Michael's character, stated, "Wow, I take back what I have said negatively about him. I have a whole new appreciation for him."

This was absolutely huge for my dad to say. I couldn't believe my ears. This goes to show how strong this movie was, and how greatly it captured this beautiful side of Michael. Throughout the movie you could just see Michael's humbleness, sincerity, purity and imagination.

I feel like this post is a bit all over the place; it is extremely hard for me to sum up my feelings about the film... about Michael.

I can't believe he is gone, and oh how I wish he could have performed at least one come-back show... and been given the chance to take one final bow to the world.

I do feel he is in a much better place now, where he is safe and away from all negativeness... a place where he can sing and dance and be youthful and worry-free.

Michael, you are and will be forever missed.