A Short Film to Help You See Your Flaws as Virtues
They say the great classics and great works of art are in that category precisely because they can be interpreted in different ways, depending on the viewer. And though you may interpret this short film in a different way, today I want to share with you what it has inspired within me.
You might find yourself tired, bored or exhausted with your life. Almost nothing satisfies you and your existence appears to have no meaning. Nothing fills you and when you think that something may give you your hope back, you realize that also wasn’t what you expected.
You have many complexes, and every day they weigh you down even more. You might even dare to say that you don’t like yourself inside or out. You feel it would be ideal to not be you at all, to change and polish everything that you deem as “flaws.” Surely if you were asked for the adjectives you’d use to describe yourself, you’d choose only negative words, and sometimes you might not even be able to find the words to describe yourself…
You’re tired of trying to find things that will give you your smile back, bring you motivation or make you feel happiness. You end up thinking desperately that this life isn’t for you. And you act accordingly, as if you didn’t have the right to enjoy yourself and be happy.
That’s how Anton feels, the protagonist of our story. Tired, exhausted and overwhelmed by his “complexes” and “flaws,” he’s made a drastic decision to put an end to his suffering and change his existence.
When we see ourselves as a bag of flaws
Anton, the protagonist of our short film, has decided to disappear and put an end to his existence. This way, his fears won’t come out into the light, he won’t have to see his flaws and won’t have to notice his limitations…
Sometimes, though we don’t go as far as to make the drastic decision of our protagonist, we decide to become blind towards ourselves and go about life not paying attention to ourselves. “I don’t like this, so I won’t look at it,” “I’m bad at this, so I’ll ignore it.” To the point where we almost don’t know ourselves at all.
We may also do the opposite. We might be so involved with ourselves that we may only be able to see our flaws or things we don’t excel in. Either way, we do not recognize ourselves. We believe that we only have the condition of being faulty and that there’s no way to change. We sabotage our own selves, and we will only consider ourselves a bag of flaws.
Happiness is an attitude that’s born within us
We buy things, get hooked on hopes, idealize our future and the people around us. We believe that when we achieve that which we set out to do, we’ll be happy. But that long awaited happiness never arrives, why? Because happiness is an attitude cultivated from within.
Happiness isn’t achieved through what we buy, the goals we achieve or by being with someone we love. We may have all of this and not have an ounce of happiness. Happiness is an attitude and, as such, we can all learn it, but always by cultivating it from within.
I know people that are not so handsome, successful, rich or perfect, but who are truly happy. Happy people are not made happy by having and achieving but by being, appreciating and thanking everything life offers us. You can see it in their eyes. They have decided to be happy, cultivating their attitude of accepting and loving themselves.
Every flaw has a small bit of virtue
Happy people aren’t happy because they don’t have flaws, but rather because they have been able to discover the greatness which lies in each one of them. They’ve stopped comparing themselves to others, because they’ve understood that comparing yourself does no good, since every one of us has lived through certain circumstances, has a set way of being, and relates in a specific way.
You may be taller, I may be shorter, him the shiest and her the most outgoing. The thing is that our “flaws” don’t make us better or worse people. They make us who we are. Each flaw has a hidden bit of virtue. You just have to discover it.
Maybe speaking is not be your strong suit, however you can express yourself wonderfully in writing. Or maybe crafts are difficult for you, but you’re a natural at sports… Have you set out to discover your potential? Anton seems to discover his by surprise at the end of the story…
Trust me, we never stop our journey of self-discovery. We have many secrets kept inside that we may not even know exist and live within ourselves. But one day they appear or you find them. The fundamental condition is that we start to love ourselves.
Remember: there’s no one like you, it’s impossible. Therefore, discover, care for, and love yourself. You’ll surely never be the same again.
If we change our attitude, stop comparing and start loving ourselves and try to see the lesson in each circumstance, the exhaustion and reluctance will leave us. Don’t be like Anton and wait until it’s too late. Because there’s nothing more beautiful than starting to cultivate yourself from within and observing how your vision of everything around you changes.