Column by Dr. Ann Hollingsworth
I don’t see many movies, at least until I can watch them on DVD or TV. But I did see and enjoy Forrest Gump when it came out in 1994. I often think of some of the wise sayings that he shared in the movie.
My favorite was “Life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are going to get.” That one saying led the wisdom of application of so many more of his other sayings, many that he got from his mama.
“You have to do the best with what God gave you.” God gives each of us something different. Sometimes we get caught up in comparing what we got to what someone else got and either get prideful or sad. But if we just focus on what Forrest’s mama said, we will do all right.
His mama also told him, “You’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on.” Sometimes when we are moving on, we do need to stop and rest a minute and it can be pleasant to reminisce in the past, but then get up and move onto in the now.
Some of Forrest’s sayings seemed to relate to his reputation of being slow, but in fact had a lot of wisdom. He once asked “What’s normal anyways?” and then again said, “Stupid is as stupid does.” Normal is really unique for each person, and what may seem stupid to one is perfectly normal to another.
Finally, a key phrase from the movie was “Run, Forrest, Run.” In life we can sit, walk, or run. Sometimes we need to do each.
