Saw the movie Up in the Air (here, Amor sin Escalas) the other night. George Clooney always cracks me up. Ever since Everett McGill and his Dapper Dan pomade in Oh Brother Where Art Thou, he has been one of my favorite actors. While his character was as absurd as many of the others he has played, the movie nevertheless took on a more somber and serious tone. It took me a minute or two of reflection to really understand this guy, Ryan Bingham. He seemed to have life all figured out. He knew exactly what he was shooting for, the coveted (by a few) ten million frequent flyer mile status, a level previously reached by just six people. He would be number seven. He did this by constantly flying around the U.S. (first class status always, of course) firing people, to do the dirty work in execution of corporate downsizing strategies. He was really good at his job. And when a young female upstart threatened his grounding by suggesting that the company implement a new method of service delivery “online” that Bingham goes into a panic. He take the youngster under arm to show her that the plan just won’t work. He was right, but in the process he discovered something about himself. He discovered that his ladder was leaning against the wrong wall. Problem was he figured that out a little late in the game….of life, that is. Bingham hooks up with an attractive lady with similar life’s goals. They have a frequent flyer fling and Bingham falls for her. This is in direct opposition to the seminars he holds entitled “What’s in Your Backpack” whereby he extols the virtues of a life without “strings.” But the two ladies in his life (the young upstart and the frequent flyer flingster) have him second guessing his stringless philosophy, only to discover that the lady is actually “all tied up” (with a husband and kids, that is). Well, one thing that can be said for Bingham is that in his heart of hearts, he really knows he’s completely full of shit. Sometimes, it takes a real hard whack against our collective heads to help us realize the same. Freedom from “attachments” is really not all that it’s cracked up to be. Why? Because those attachments are like anchors that keep our ships safe at harbor from threatening seas that will gladly capsize us for life if we set sail in them. Like Bingham, I learned that lesson from experience, a little late as well. The movie ends with Bingham fairly well capsized. If life ever has you in this way, maybe it is a simple suggestion that you throw out an anchor and “tie down.” That there maybe some things still in that backpack, things that money can’t buy and ten million frequent flyer miles will never equal the value of, that are actually well worth the burden.
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