Moving Forward

In the wake of the Boston Marathon Tragedy and the Waco, Texas plant explosion, the nation has endured some massive emotional blows this past week.  If there’s one thing positive that you could take from all this, it’s that we are a nation that knows how to rally behind each other and move forward in times of despair.  Despite these catastrophic events, we are faced with no other option but to move forward.  And while these events that have transpired were unbearable to experience and difficult to comprehend, we understand that in order to rise we have to move forward.  Moving forward is something that is applicable to everyday life.

I was watching the movie “Meet The Robinsons” the other day and its theme has resonated with me ever since.  It’s something about those Disney movies that have the BEST darn themes time after time.  I’m a sucker for them! Anyway back to my point.  “Meet the Robinsons” is about a young ambitious inventor who continuously fails and scares people with his creative inventions.  He faces all kinds of opposition and adversity because he his perceived as weird and creepy by others.  Nonetheless he is persistent with his inventions and ultimately prevails.  He kept “moving forward”. WOW! Instantly I think about someone like Einstein who was misunderstood by his peers but was a physicists genius. Or someone like Chris Gardner who loss everything in pursuit of his dream.  Or John Elway who it took 14 years to win his first Lombardi Trophy.  The one thing success stories all have in common is that; Successful people move forward.

In order to move forward, you have to acknowledge where you came from.  We often are told that it’s not good to dwell on the past.  I, for one, disagree with that.  I believe that having those nostalgic moments can bring peace to the mind and tranquility to the soul.  I enjoy picking up vintage photo albums, listening to old school music, and taking a good ole walk down memory lane.  I don’t just remember the good times, but the bad as well.  As an entertainer, I enjoy reading rejection notices from talent agencies (just received one this week), casting directors, and potential business partners.  Why?? Because its important to know where you came from! My past (or history) is what has shaped me into the man who I am today.  It would be silly for me not to acknowledge any of that.  Like we’ve all heard before…If you don’t know your past, you can’t see your future.  If you don’t know where you’ve come from, how do you know where you’re going.

While moving forward can sometimes seem challenging, at the end it’s all we can do.  The last I checked, my clock ticks in the future, not the past.  Nobody knows for certain what the future holds.  That’s the whole adventure of life.  But the one thing we do know is that the future is inevitable, unavoidable, and its coming whether we like it or not.  Problems will arise, pain will come, and tragedies are bound to happen.  The only sure way to defeat all these issues is to move forward.  There’s a light at the end of every tunnel.  If you happen to stop along the route, you don’t get to experience the sunshine. Keep MOVIN FORWARD!