Last night I watched the Canadian film "One Week" starring Joshua Jackson (oh Pacey, I still would choose you over Dawson). It was a random choice I found while scrolling through Netflix, but I highly recommend you watch it too.
Ben Tyler is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Knowing his chances of survival are slim, he feels compelled to finally live. On his way home from the doctor, he stumbles upon a man selling a motorcycle and his roll-up-the-rim coffee tells him to "go west." All of these signs tell Ben that he must take this adventure and, although his fiancee is dead set against it (which I think is ridiculously selfish of her, even though she tells Ben he is being selfish), Ben gets on his new motorcycle and heads west.
I loved that this movie had Ben stopping at all of the "World's Biggest" landmarks. This happens to be a thing I love visiting too where ever I go. And I loved that he was in Canada and on his cross country journey I was reminded of many of the landmarks we stopped to see the time Justin, my dad and I drove from Alberta to Ontario and back. I enjoyed that every person Ben meets on his way, he alters their life somehow the same way they help alter his. I think we so often forget in our journeys that every one we come in contact with leaves an imprint on us (and that should remind us that we left one on that person too). And the soundtrack for this movie was wicked.
Overall I found this movie incredibly inspiring. The reminder that we are all on borrowed time and we should live during that time was much needed. Plus I now am more motivated to convince Rainman to buy a motorcycle so we can travel across the country with the wind in our faces, being one with the road and the world. I also remembered how beautiful Canada truly is watching this film and that I should plan to travel here more. I mean, I have lived here 30 years and I have still never been to Quebec. Or the Territories. Or the Maritimes. I am forever wishing that I could run away to another country, experience another place -- yet I have so many opportunities to do so in my own back yard.
Final message: don't settle in life. Don't settle for that job, that partner, that house, anything that you question. Because one day your time will be up, and you will want to know that you lived.
2 comments:
I adored this movie-saw it in the theatre, and nabbed a previously viewed DVD when I saw it for a really good price, because I wanted to watch it again (very rare for me-I purchase very few DVDs). I'm also a Pacey fan from way back :) It does have great messages and it shows off Canada in a wonderful light. I've driven a fair bit of the TransCanada, especially the segment between Thunder Bay, Ontario and London, Ontario, and it was neat to see the things that we saw on our many trips. It's so much easier to appreciate them in rapid succession in a movie sequence than 4 hours apart with uneventful driving in between :)
Ok I need to watch this! I love big landmarks too! I also love anything giant sized.
I want to do the maritimes really badly. Now that I'm a lot closer I hope to check it out for sure. During Lobster time. Cuz lobster is delicious.
Now you know somebody who lives in Quebec ;)
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