Being Andy Dufresne!!!

I was typing something last week where the word 'Hole' was autocorrected to Hope which instantly brought a smile to my sulking face. This reminded me of the movie that has had a big impact on me, Shawahank Redemption!!! I must have watched it countless times and is one movie I will watch if it is on TV. There are so many characters that have had an impact on me. 

It could be the flamboyant Tommy who just couldn't read. How he managed to build the courage to take up his studies and do well. Then his ending sucked the hope out of me :(

Then there was Brooks who was institutionalized. So many of us are in our thought processes and beliefs. Like they say in Kannada, 'Appa haakida aalada mara antha nethaadtha eddivi' :) So much so that he could not survive outside alone. There is so much to think for us looking at Brooks. Imagine growing old and all our friends and family are not around, what will keep us going, what is the motivation to live, forget enjoying life?

Then there was Red, the only non-innocent person in the jail. He had committed a crime at a young age when he did not realize the consequences and is beating himself daily for it. So much so that he had lost all hope and said "Let me tell you something, my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane." But he somehow manages to follow his friend's words and come out of that fear. 

"Terrible thing, to live in fear. Brooks Hatlen knew it. Knew it all too well. All I want is to be back where things make sense. Where I won't have to be afraid all the time. Only one thing stops me. A promise I made to Andy."

That is what true friends can do, stick around when there is no hope and walk with them to find new grounds. Influence when nothing else works. Give a kick at the backside when there is no will to move. 

Then there was Andy Dufresne, the man who knows it all but is stuck for doing nothing. Imagine how he must have felt when his only ticket out, Tommy was killed. Anyone in his place would have killed a few and gone down or just given up on everything. But no, he showed patience and literally chipped away at it daily. It must have taken yrs to do it and keep going at it. Getting institutionalized would have been such an easy option, give up and get used to the norm. He always showed there was hope, like by doing the taxes for all and watching his friends bask in the sun with a beer or teaching Tommy or playing music on the speaker. He always spread hope in the toughest of situations. And then, his plan came together and he swam through shit to freedom. And man, the way he did it and what followed was awesome. He must have planned it every day and manifested it to happen without giving up. He made Red realize that things could get better. And the journey to Buxton, the tree, and the letter, made the entire movie worth watching again.

"Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well." 

Sometime we face situations that seem to be impossible to handle and give in. Andy helped us to see beyond it and dream of possibilities. TBH, in our life, we all go between being Red and Andy based on the situation and our way of handling it. We just need to keep going and balance it out. When you think you are Red find an Andy and if you think you are Andy, be that for others around you.

So, cheers to being Andy Dufresne (for yourself and others)!!! 

And while you are working it out, it is easy to feel like Red and get into a shell. Just dust yourself up and keep in touch with people who care no matter how far they are and find your Andy. Here is a good way "Listen, here's something we can do: we can look at the moon, sometimes - and, you know, it's the same moon everywhere - and we would be looking at the same thing together that way, you see?"