Cast Away: 10 years of waiting

Before I watch this film, I thought that the greatest fear of human being is being lonely. For not having anyone by your side, in time of need or in anytime at all. Never have the opportunity to belong to somewhere or worst, to anyone. When you never know where is your home, somewhere you belong, to some place where people know your face and know who you are, the real you, not you that defined by profession or achievement; when you have no one to turn to.

Even when you are at crowd, the emptiness is there, like thousand knives stabbing continuously. It hurt so much, even others can’t see any. It’s so real. Cuts that bleeds; with no chance to recover at all. That is the thought before Cast Away.

After years waiting to watch Cast Away, the opportunity came and now I’ve change my POV.

Cast Away (2000) is a film of someone that has been cast to an island that focused the dilemma of being alone. Everybody knows that (duh), the anchor actor for the film is Tom Hank. Yet, alone is not the most dreadful feeling in human life.

When FedEx executive, Chuck Nolan stranded to an inhabitant island due to plane crash he got confused. Not knowing what to do, he started to send distressed signal. Everything which he tried to work seems like futile attempt. Even to survive at minimum level of human needs is tough. Till he had to accept, he stranded then he started to search for shelter and think how to move one.

But yet, we as social human being can do when we are alone, all alone? Yet, loneliness is not the most painful feeling. True, it is not.

When the film start to built up Chuck characters, how he adapt his new life with virtually have nothing to compare with his perfect life back in State, I realized that to keep one man to stand in is hope. Chuck Nolan hope to come back home, his girlfriend yet to be his wife is waiting. And he has a clock with his girlfriend’s photo inside to keep him alive, escape and be civilized again.

But still, when you lose hope that is not the thing that can bring you down.

My brother comment on that film then make me realized, man will not have any will to live when he has no purpose to live. Purpose, one simple word yet can drive every potential in you.

Purpose, to think as a free thinker, do we have one? But I’m not a free thinker, I’m a believer.
Deep in my heart I believe that we are all created with a purpose. A purpose to suit meaning of our existent; the most beautiful and brilliant creature ever created. A purpose that is larger than our life itself. Yet we just can’t see it, because it has been made intangible. You have to reach it within self, your soul. The only limb which can materialize a ‘purpose’ to be real, as real as your existence; to touch it, to feel, to live in it, to take every breath with it, and to lose the last breath with it.

Chuck Nolan has created his own purpose, and he survived for 4 years alone in inhabitants island. That purpose made him materialized everything; eliminate loneliness by creating a ‘friend’, Mr Wilson. And with the same purpose he built hope and strived. He used every potential in himself, squeezed it and the universe answered his prayer. Even he never prayed, but the effort he put in for 4 years for every single day is a prayer itself. The prayer that is performed with his body and mind. Then on one single day, tide bring him a plastic panel, which he used it as a sail. A sail that bring his freedom, and bring him back home.

This film make me reflect, for us, for all of us, how many years that been allocate for us to breath in? If this life is the same place to reflect Chuck Nolan survival to live, then, what is our purpose? Do we strive to reach for that? And when the time come, will tide bring you a sail that can help you find the way to be home again?

I’ll find my sail, I’ll eliminate loneliness, THE PURPOSE is too big to left me alone.

What say you?