Heads up, this contains spoilers for Pixar’s animation: Soul.
Did you have a whirlwind day today? Maybe you felt suffocated by worries or were swamped with tasks to hit your goals. Or perhaps, you suddenly looked up from the chaos to find the sky outside already turning dark?
Pause for a moment and ponder: ‘If today were a chapter, how would it read?’ Chances are, it might be tough to jot down something unique about today amidst the routine. Feel the same? Honestly, I do too. And what if someone asks you this?
Why do you live?
Living to achieve something, are you? Then why do you need to achieve it? Does it truly add value to your life? And… are you happy right now?
For a while now, Pixar has been diving deep into the human mechanism and beyond. While ‘Monsters, Inc.’ and ‘Inside Out’ explored dreams and emotions, recent creations like ‘Coco’ and ‘Soul’ weave stories crossing life and the beyond.
Here’s a quick peek into what ‘Soul’ is about:
The protagonist, Joe Gardner, a middle school music teacher, dreams of dazzling onstage at a jazz club. Just as he’s about to fulfill this dream, he accidentally falls into a manhole and dies. He finds himself in ‘The Great Before’, where souls prepare to head to Earth. There, he meets soul 22…
That’s the gist. While it might not be as visually spectacular as some previous hits, like ‘Inside Out’ or ‘Coco’, I must say, ‘Soul’ is the best Pixar animation I’ve watched so far.
The ‘Great Before’ is a place where unborn souls find their Spark, the passion they need before heading to Earth. Mentors help them discover it. Once found, they embark on their human journey. However, soul 22 hasn’t found any passion or talent in thousands of years and fears they lack the value to exist. Joe Gardner, however, is different. He believes his passion for music is his life’s purpose and can’t understand why 22 can’t find theirs.
They end up on Earth together, and 22 spends some time helping Joe with his performance. During this brief time, 22 finds their Spark. But Joe, despite finally achieving his dream performance, feels an emptiness inside.
Let’s reflect again. What does it mean to live? Is life only valuable if we achieve something? If not, should we never have been born? The film tells us otherwise.
Joe realizes upon returning home, feeling empty, that the simple, everyday moments he took for granted were what truly sustained and brought him joy. This realization becomes the essence of his life’s worth.
Not long ago, I had a massive headache. It was so bad I could barely move. I grabbed some Tylenol from a pharmacy and collapsed at home. I didn’t even take the meds, just lay there, feeling like someone was hammering my head. Somehow, I nodded off to that rhythm. When I woke, it was dark outside, and a cool breeze rushed through the open window. It felt refreshing, and my headache was gone.
I went out to the playground in front of my apartment, sat in the sharp winter wind for a while, and when hunger hit, I walked to a nearby restaurant, muttering to myself,
‘It’s good to be alive.’
Being alive is good. I hadn’t done anything particularly beneficial for the world, achieved no grand goals, just healed a headache. Yet, I felt happy to be alive.
Hey, like you said about jazz. I was jazzing.
Just like you talked about jazz, I was doing my jazz.
That’s how 22 responded when asked about handling the barber friend. At that moment, Joe replied,
music and life operate by very different rules.
Music and life dance to different tunes!
Because he viewed dreams and passions as separate from everyday life. But once he realized his mistake, he reassured an anxious 22 before returning to Earth,
You’re pretty great at jazzing.
You’re doing amazing at this thing called life.
I loved this play on words. It goes hand-in-hand with the response to what he’d do when back on Earth,
I’m going to live every minute of it.
I’m going to cherish every moment.
So, are you all ready to cherish every moment too? We’re human, reaching enlightenment isn’t easy, and we’ll likely slip back into our hectic routines. But at least for the moment after watching the movie, you might feel a happiness akin to Joe’s rebirth. If you haven’t seen it yet, I envy you.
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