After a long day writing, it was time to veg out in front of whatever the TV had to offer. After an entrée of "Two And A Half Men" - the following film was, "The Fast and Furious." Sure I had it on DVD; I think I even have it on Blu-ray. I could watch it without the annoying adverts. But I was tired.

So I began to watch it.

Didn't watch the whole film. Didn't need to. But I watched it until I got what I needed to hear. In a rare moment of opening up to Brian, Dom Torreto (played by Vin Diesel) explains the tragedy of his past. Happy memories obscured by a life event that lost him his father, lost him his self-control, and then cost him his freedom when he was sent to jail for assault.

With the past sullied and the future unsure, Dom delivers this line:

"I live my life a quarter mile at a time, nothing else matters. Not the mortgage, not the store, not the team and all their bulls**t. For those ten seconds or less... I'm free."

The movie is one of mixed morals, conflicted characters, and variable values - but I like it. I haven't met a perfect person yet. I experienced a sympathetic resonance with Dom - a man torn between worlds, wishes and what to do next. His strategy? To live his life a quarter mile at a time.

For him it was the quarter mile of the road race, but I think he was speaking generally too.

I've got 'issues' with my past. I don't like how it went. Can't change that - though I can change the lens I see it through. I've got doubts about my future. But I can, and I will, live my present life a quarter mile at a time.

What does the next quarter mile hold for you?

That's not even taking a day at a time. If you ran as fast as Roger Bannister at his best, that's the next minute! If you drove as fast as Dom, that's 10 seconds. I can live 10 seconds to a minute at a time when the going gets tough.

And if working out the next quarter mile is too confusing, I think the next quarter of an hour is more than enough!

Lex

A Moodscope member.