A to Z Challenge - B for Braveheart

"Every man dies, not every man really lives."

Yes, it's a GREAT movie. It collected many academy awards the year it was launched. Millions of people saw the movie, and it made an astronomical profit.

Some claimed the story was historically twisted, and others simply ignored it. Scenery was amazing, costumes were awesome, storyline was smart and subtle, adrenaline was real.

As a matter of fact, personally, it's the one and only HIT of my life, which inspired me to make a song titled "Spirits Alive" and influenced my worldview very strongly, which I owe Mel Gibson partly for my success in my career.

But let's admit this: Braveheart goes beyond being simply a movie; it sets a foundational life philosophy that can be applied in modern lives regardless to its historical theme. It doesn't remind us only the natural passion of freedom that's indigenous to mankind, but also the real divinity and sanctity of deep love. Due to one of my career lines, as a motivational writer and speaker, I'm closely interested in the biographies of great people in history. I don't care about their ideology, neither their ambitions, but mostly the path of life they followed. I look at their childhoods, and see how they overcame all the difficulties they faced, and how they turned all the bad cards in their hands into victories, which inspired me to pick a subtitle for my book "A Life Without Complexes": It's Not How You Start, But How You Finish.

To keep a flower that was given to you under your garment,
close to your chest, protecting it through numerous battles you engage
for years to come. Words can't express such a bond the way this gesture can.

What strikes me most about such biographies is all have something common: A turning point in these lives, which indirectly affects the lives of many others. In this example, it was the untimely death of William Wallace's wife. Such turning points make me feel a divine touch, like a switch being turned on. That's why, people like Wallace appear to me as messangers, who come to this world for special missions. And with an event that changes their lives, they find their destiny.

It doesn't matter what we dream for ourselves, or what kind of ambitions we have, there are many great principles and values in such people's lives, to be learned and applied to our own lives. And we don't have to become great commanders, politicians, or public figures who are destined to change the lives of millions. If we change ourselves, the entire world will take benefit of it. After all, even if we believe in reincarnation - as I do - we will be the person who we are now for only once. So, we have to live our lives to the fullest.

The key is what little Wiliam's father tells him in his dream:

"Your heart is free; have courage to follow it."

"There's a difference between us:
You believe people exist to provide you with castles, lands, and titles.
I believe you have castles, lands, and titles to provide them freedom."
William Wallace