A Little Push

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  I recently watched this film that had released in 2017 and was directed by Neil Burger, entailing ‘a comedic outlook at the relationship between a quadriplegic wealthy man and an unemployed man with a criminal record who is hired to help him’ (IMDb, 2019). This movie, that was itself a remake of a 2011 French film, has since then been remade into South Indian Films as well. It brings together the primary fact that humans need each other to function irrespective of one’s physical, social or economic status. It outlines the journeys of two human beings who have all-but-given-up on life but who also just need that ‘little push’ to bring them back from the edge of despair. It also teaches us that it’s easy to blame the World for our problems but the hard part is realizing that we ourselves are letting the problems get the better of us. 

There’s a lot of mental health awareness that’s going on now, and it’s great! We shouldn’t shy away from asking for help, especially when we don’t feel like ourselves. There’s a scene in the movie where the quadriplegic gets neurogenic spasms in the dead of the night and he’s not willing to take a breath – a single breath – that can bring him back from the brink of death. And for a moment we may even think it’s over, but his carer’s dialogue is simply: 

“Hey! Ain’t nothing extraordinary about breathing, man… so you just take a deep breath..." 

Ofcourse, there may be no effort needed in breathing for an adult with healthy lungs and if we think about it, breathing is one of those things, that we’re not even aware of – even while doing it for the entire day! But, for a person who is struggling to find the purpose itself to breathe, they need the courage to breathe. They need to be told that they are full of hope, that they have it in them to move on – one, single, slow, deliberate yet irregular breaths at a time. 
So, the next time we come across a person who needs help, but is afraid to say so, just listen; pay attention. Don’t ‘do’ anything, just being there matters – let that sink in.