Let's get a little bit crazy

There are just some days where you just want to take a break from the daily grind and just mull over why you do what you do. I find answers when I watch movies, open a random chapter from my favorite book, "The Pilgrimage" by Paulo Coelho, or just talk to a friend who knows me best. Sometimes, I even read my notes or writings from one of my little notebooks. The answers all come to me when I do any one of these things, and I always feel strengthened again.

Some people say they do what they do because they have to survive. Survival for me does not equate to merely existing and going through the motions. I want to "survive" as a human being, with a soul that has a purpose. When you feel that you are here for something more, and it's your duty to discover that, days and nights are not easy =)

And so, it's one of those days again for me. I was lucky enough to catch the last 15 minutes of Ratatouille last night on the disney channel, and it's so true that when you sincerely seek answers -- you get them. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the movie.

Django: [showing the exterminator shop to Remy with the dead rats in the window] The world we live in belongs to the enemy, we must live carefully. We look out for our own kind, Remy. When all is said and done, we're all we've got.
[Django starts to walk away]
Remy: [defiantly] No. Dad, I don't believe it. You're telling me that the future is - can only be - more of this?
Django: This is the way things are; you can't change nature.
Remy: Change is nature, Dad. The part that we can influence. And it starts when we decide.
Django: [Remy turns to leave] Where are you going?
Remy: With luck, forward.

Remy: I just lost my family - all my friends - probably forever.
Gusteau: How do you know?
Remy: Well, I - I... You are an illustration; why am I talking to you?
Gusteau: Oh, you just lost your family - all your friends - you are lonely.
Remy: Yeah, well, you're dead!
Gusteau: Ahh, but that is no match for wishful thinking! If you're focused on what you've left behind, you will not be able to see what lies ahed. Now go up and look around!

Gusteau: [Remy is locked in a cage] So, we have given up.
Remy: Why do you say that?
Gusteau: We are in a cage inside the car trunk awaiting a future in frozen food products.
Remy: No, I'm the one in a cage. I've given up. You are Free.
Gusteau: I am only as free as you imagine me to be. As you are.
Remy: Oh, please. I'm sick of pretending. I pretend to be a rat for my father. I pretend to be a human through Linguini. I pretend you exist so I have someone to talk to! You only tell me stuff I already know! I know who I am! Why do I need you to tell me? Why do I need to pretend?
Gusteau: But you don't Remy. You never did

Anton Ego: In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. The world is often unkind to new talent, new creations, the new needs friends. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau's, who is, in this critic's opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau's soon, hungry for more.

Gusteau: You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work, and you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul. What i say is true - anyone can cook...but only the fearless can be great.