Nemo

Slumberland is a movie adaptation of a comic strip from 100+ years ago. The main character, Nemo, is enrolled in a traditional school for the first time in her life. Throughout the movie, she explains to her uncle how he thinks and acts differently than her father.

Quoting her father, Nemo said, “Schools are basically prisons. They keep kids locked up mentally and physically. To prepare them for jobs, that are basically prisons. Until they retire and go to a nursing home. Their final prison.”

I am not sure what happened next in the scene. That line hit. It hit heavy. I immediately wrote it down. It has echoed in my head dozens of times. It rattles me. Rattled in a good way. It has become imprinted on me. Why did it bother me so much?

I become imprisoned in my head. Sometimes, I notice it. I feel trapped. More often, I don’t notice. I go through the motions of my routines. However, I do not experience them. The generation before me called it a rat race. Now people say hamster wheel. Exerting the energy but not getting anywhere.

If I don’t know where I’m going, I can’t see progress. If I don’t know why I am doing, I can’t feel purpose. If I am not intentional with those around me, I can’t feel connected. It feels like the same thing over and over. But it only feels that way if I am not paying attention. Every moment, every breath, is always different.

Have I allowed my circumstances to become a prison? Can I accept the cell door isn’t locked? What will I do in this new, different moment?

Be curious, be kind, be whole, do good things.