"Happiness is only real when shared"

1:02am: I am still awake due to the mocha latte i had a few hours ago. I should probably get some rest since i work 11-11 tomorrow but what the heck, i'm addicted to blogging now.

So, I watched INTO THE WILD after I got off work because i hadn't seen a lot of advertising for it but i thought it looked like a good movie. Well it turns out that it was a great movie! I loved it.

Here's the summary from imdb: (that is much better than i could sum it up- ps: spoiler in summary!)

[A young man leaves his middle class existence in pursuit of freedom from relationships and obligation. Giving up his home, family, all possessions but the few he carried on his back and donating all his savings to charity Christopher McCandless embarks on a journey throughout America. His eventual aim is to travel into Alaska, into the wild, to spend time with nature, with 'real' existence, away from the trappings of the modern world. In the 20 months leading up to his Great Alaskan Adventure his travels lead him on a path of self-discovery, to examine and appreciate the world around him and to reflect on and heal from his troubled childhood and parents' sordid and abusive relationship. When he reaches Alaska he finds he has been insufficiently prepared for the hardships to come. Despite making it through the winter his plan is ill-judged and prepares to return home in spring, only to find the stream he crossed in the snow has become an impassable raging torrent and that he is trapped. With no means of sustaining himself adequately he eventually starves to death in his so sought after isolation. Throughout his epic journey the people he meets both influence and are influenced by the person he is and bring him to the eventual and tragic realisation that "Happiness is only real when shared".]

The movie made me think about our relationship with nature and the relationships we have with the people around us. What is wild? There was a scene where he's homeless and wandering around a city at night which in a way seems much more wild than being out in nature.

It also got me thinking about the goodness of people and that even though there's some pretty messed up shit that happens, there will always be good people out there. Little things can mean the world to another person. Small nice gestures make a difference. Like those commercials where the good deeds have a waterfall effect. I think it's a Liberty commercial or something but someone does something so small like hold a door open for someone and it does have an effect.

A few scenes with an elderly man who needed to enjoy life more and get out to see things really hit hard. I thought about my grandfather who passed away over the summer. It brought tears to my eyes. Even thinking about it now brings back memories of my grandfather. He sacrificed a lot to take care of my grandmother when she had alzheimer's disease. After she died, he never got out as much as he used to but he still had that will to live. Everyone who came across his path loved him and he loved them too. The man in the movie was so happy that Chris came into his life for a bit because he had someone to share it with. He had lived in his house alone, with a leather carving hobby. It's true that "Happiness is only real when shared."

That was the main quote in the movie. Chris had wanted a life of isolation in the wilderness of Alaska because he thought that you don't need human relationships to be happy. When the truth was that the experiences he had getting to Alaska were the happiest when with people he met. He learned that truth too late. What I mainly got from it is to not take forgranted the people you have around you. I'm sure there's many more lessons to take from the movie but i haven't quite finished processing it in my mind. I just wanted to put these few comments out there while it's still fresh in my mind. It's a good movie and artfully done, some of the imagry is amazing. Rent it!

Oh and it's based off a true story and the book by Jon Krakauer. So, that's another book i'd like to read but don't have time for... maybe summertime.

[image: the real Chris McCandless]