Comfort in Forrest Gump

Well, I try not to repeat the Forrest Gump mantra, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” Despite it being true, it’s a little too cliche. But last night, I randomly caught the last part of the movie as I was falling asleep, and something else from it really resonated with me.

My cousin, Archie Reid, passed away over the weekend. And before that, my great Aunt Mary, passed away over the summer. Both losses have made me so sad, though I know they are watching over and wouldn’t want me to be upset. But their loss, along with other losses of family members and friends, have also made me wonder about life and death, and the unease we feel sometimes when we think about it all.

I don’t know, I don’t have answers, but I want to share this quote with you from the last scene in Forrest Gump. It’s a beautiful line that I feel is so true–it hits the uncertainty and the deeper knowing we have that life has freedom as well as destiny and meaning. I hope this comforts anyone the way it has comforted me:

“I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it’s both. Maybe both is happening at the same time.”