My Name is Forrest....

I was reminded of this by a friend. 

I found this so profound and felt it was so true, I wanted to share everywhere I share ...

I had a therapist give me an analogy of "Forrest Gump" that really was quite interesting. 

She said it is one thing that explains why many people were so captivated by that movie and the characters. 

Made a great deal of sense to me. 

Forrest, although obviously not extremely intelligent, was PURELY innocent and completely accepting. He saw no bad in others, read nothing into their motivations. 

He was very truthful and never afraid to do what he felt was right. He ran when he wanted, stopped when he wanted. 

He did not feel above any job or task and he worked hard, but he never worried about the future. 

He cared for everyone and accepted them just as they were. 

He was self-possessed. He did not care what people thought of him and he internalized nothing that anyone said to him, and yet he remained kind and he was always happy. 

He did not run from his troubles and he only fought when he felt he had to. 

Jennie represented our instinct to FLEE and Captain Dan represented our instinct to FIGHT. Those are the defences they used to cope with the world...and they were miserable. 

It was very easy to understand WHY they used these defenses as they had both endured great trauma. Both felt that Forrest was non-reactive because he was "damaged" and, although they both cared for him, they rejected him over and over. They felt that he was too innocent and too "damaged" to understand their positions and that this is why he remained the way he was.  

Eventually, and with consistency, Forrest was able to help them break through their defences and learn acceptance. 

In the end, once they stopped "Fighting and Fleeing" they found happiness as well. (Although Jenny did not have happiness for very long.) 

Forrest did NOT completely abandon his rights or himself. If it was appropriate (and needed) he would flee or he would fight. He was NOT a doormat.

In short, he was the perfect human being, with perfect boundaries and no need to desire to alter the boundaries of other people...despite the fact that MUCH of the world saw ONLY his "handicap". His handicap became a gift to all those he touched.

This did not keep tragedy from touching his life, and it did not protect him from all pain...but it made him able to accept the pain, work through it, and move forward.

Her take on it is that we need to fight against what our minds (those of us with the "curse" of normal/high intelligence) tell us and attempt to think

"What would Forrest do?"