Zak: “I can’t be a hero because I am a — Down’s Syndrome.” Tyler: “What’s that got to do with your heart?”
Excerpt From The Movie, The Peanut Butter Falcon
This past weekend, I was able to visit a very dear friend of mine in Oregon. While I was there we took some time to watch a movie entitled, The Peanut Butter Falcon. It is a movie about Zak, a 22-year-old man with Down’s Syndrome, his caretaker, and a fugitive (Tyler) whose stories become inter-twined. He is placed in a nursing home because the state has no where else to put him, so he lives in a nursing home for the elderly where he feels utterly trapped.
He’s very close to Eleanor, one of his caretakers, who has a tendency to treat him as incapable of doing things that he is quite capable of doing. Not out’ve of trying to control him, but out of love and trying to protect him from life. She in turn tries to dissuade Zak from his obsession to become a professional wrestler, his ultimate dream.
When Zak escapes the facility, he meets up with Tyler, a fugitive, who becomes his mentor and friend. The story is about their journey together and it changes their hearts, including Eleanor who eventually catches up to them.
I Remember…
A number of years ago I had the privilege of working work with a group of folks from Best Buddies of Arizona. Best Buddies is an international organization who’s mission is to create opportunities for one-to-one friendships, employment opportunities and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I have a brother with special needs so it is very near and dear to my heart.
Each and every time I went I always received some unexpected gift or lesson.
One of the memories that sticks in my mind, was while interacting with one of the team members, I was struck by the notion that I was surrounded by some of the most authentic people I had ever met in my life. And that got me thinking…
It’s About Being Real
What is it about this extraordinary group of individuals that makes this experience feel so authentic, so genuine, and so real?
As I pondered that question I came to this conclusion: The reason this feels so genuine is because these folks don’t hold back, they speak from their hearts and they say what’s on their minds. They don’t have a problem telling you how they feel.
In a world of soundbites, political back-stabbing, word-salad, spin, and the inability of a politician to answer a simple, basic question, these folks were a welcomed breathe of fresh air.
No facades, and no masks. They live in the moment and they are totally engaged in the now.
What If?
What if more people spoke their truth instead of hiding behind a veil of filters and fear? What if people didn’t have to work so hard to try to be special, unique, or different by creating some false category to try to feel real?
What if we didn’t have to be soooooooo politically correct that we defy logic because someone or some group is offended? What if more people said what they meant and meant what they said at work, at home, and especially in Washington D.C.?
And for the record: I am not talking about maliciously hurting others out of ignorance or fear. That isn’t the point, that is just the other extreme.
What I am saying is that we seem to be trading authenticity and truth for dis-ingenuousness and mis-truths.
So what about you, what’s really on your mind?
