Mr. Steiner always told us in high school art class, “Take risks!” Art is a risky business; when you put it all out there (or down on a canvas), you risk rejection, judgment, and failure. Maybe nobody has done it that way before; maybe they’ll laugh at your attempt to create something meaningful or beautiful; maybe you’ll “prove” that you really don’t have much to offer, once we see it in black-and-white. Yes, art is risky, because being yourself is risky.
Will Hunting is a mathematical genius in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting. Will is also a very troubled and “at-risk” young adult, who constantly gets in trouble with the law for violence. A local math professor at one of Boston’s finest universities takes Will under his wing, providing him with both counseling and opportunities. It isn’t long before Will is offered high profile math jobs with the US government. Will, nonetheless, prefers to work with his buddies from Southie as a laborer on a demolition crew.
Upon hearing about his refusal to accept these better positions, Will’s best friend, Chuckie, sets him straight. He basically acknowledges that for some people, working on the demolition crew is just fine, but for others, it’s a waste of time. “You are sitting on a winning lottery ticket,” Chuckie says. “But you’re too much of a [coward] to cash it in…I’d do anything to have what you got.” Then he concludes by telling Will that staying with the old gang is a waste of time—it’s even insulting to the rest of the guys, who have no choice but to work for the crew.
Though he was a genius, Will was afraid to take risks, settling for what was comfortable. So he sat on his “winning lottery ticket,” refusing to be himself and do what he was made to do.
I am not saying at this point, “Follow your dream.” That is not what this post is about. It’s about taking the risk of being yourself. Put yourself out there, even when it’s not comfortable. We are all sitting on a winning lottery ticket. God has made us each special, with unique abilities and passions. The trouble is that we settle for what’s comfortable, under the disguise of “that’s what’s best.”
You is what’s best.
© 2010 by Samuel Kee
