Take time out for a movie!

This summer I have had the pleasure of looking after grandkids.  One of our days together was a trip to Aberdeen in the train (that alone would have been exciting enough!) and a visit to the cinema to see 'Inside Out 2'.  'Inside Out' (2015) was such a wonderful way of introducing young people to their emotions, so I was looking forward to the sequel.  I had heard that the new movie focused on the main character entering puberty and beginning to experience more complex emotions, so wondered if it would be 'beyond' the grandsons watching with me, but it is a movie that you can watch on many levels. I highly recommend it for people of ALL ages.  It is a fantastic way of exploring how our emotions and thoughts can become intertwined and get us into all sorts of trouble. My grandsons laughed out loud many times but, equally, I also appreciated the vulnerability depicted and reflected on how we all have a tug of war with ourselves and our emotions when dealing with tricky situations.  

A particularly poignant observation for me was how the characters Joy and Sadness are always seen together.  Wherever Joy is, Sadness is close by and vice versa.  It is something I have reflected on a great deal in recent weeks.  I visited someone very special last week. We shared such wonderful memories together.  Memories from different chapters of our lives where there was much joy and laughter. However, our visit was tinged with deep sadness, as it was possibly our last time together, but, if we hadn't had had  those shared experiences we would have had neither Joy nor Sadness.  Far better to have experienced both. We need one to fully appreciate the other, as Queen Elizabeth said on the passing of her husband, "Grief is the price we pay for love." It's something that has remained with me.