It’s been a long time since I’ve posted, but I hope you are all doing well. I thought I’d share some quote analysis…
“Man looks in the abyss, there’s nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.” – Lou Mannheim, Wall Street
One of my favorite philosophical quotations, spoken by the great Hal Holbrook, in which he advises the film’s protagonist Bud Fox about the various pitfalls in life. I thought this would be a good one to start with since it has a universal application, and one didn’t necessarily need to have a head injury in order to understand it’s importance.
Most people would rather avoid discomfort, but it is through the struggle brought on by challenges and uncomfortable situations that we are able to find our character. If it had been up to me, I wouldn’t have chosen to be afflicted by a ruptured brain aneurysm. I would have spared my family from having to endure the uncertainty. Similarly, while I have made tremendous progress in my physical and emotional recovery, my balance and vision are still compromised. With my vision, the experience is similar to the sensation after you’ve stepped from a merry-go-round. I am a human bobblehead. I sometimes think back to when I was wrestling in high school and I could execute some unorthodox moves because I had incredible balance. Either way, though, I didn’t have the choice, and now I can only make the best of the situation. While it has certainly gotten better, there are still obstacles. Hopefully, as I continue to stare into the abyss, I will find my character, and that will keep me out of the abyss.