When Spider-Man asks you to write a blog, you write a blog.
This is that. Let me explain.
A few weeks ago, we got an email asking if we might want to be involved in the promotion of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. We said we would need to see the movie. They said we could see part of it. We figured they would send a link to a video. Instead, they rented out a theater and sent two security guards.
That led to this.
The bad guy in the new Spider-Man movie is a character called Max, played by Jamie Foxx. We are first introduced to Max when Spider-Man saves him from getting hit by a car. Max recognizes Spider-Man, and it means the world to Max when Spider-Man says his name and tells him that he matters. Max has seen himself a nobody, but Spider-Man tells him he’s a somebody.
Though we are yet to see the whole movie, we did see more of Max. The thing that really stood out to me was Max’s desire to be known. Even as he begins to become the villain, you can see that at his core, Max simply wants to matter, he wants to be significant. In a pivotal standoff with the police in Times Square, Max sees himself on the dozens of TV screens and he can’t look away. Suddenly, he matters. Suddenly, he is a somebody.
i wonder if you can relate to Max. i wonder if we all can. i believe we all desire to be known and also to be loved. i believe we all want to feel significant, to feel that we matter, to feel that we are special. i believe this stuff is central to us. It’s at the root of who we are and what we need. And because this life is hard, because things so often don’t go the way we wish or dream, we encounter pain. And when it comes to problems of pain – our struggles, fears, failures and questions, issues such as depression and addiction – how we respond is hugely important. Over and over in our lives, with actions more than words, we get to answer the question, “What do I do with my pain?”
There are a thousand ways to cope, a thousand places to put our pain. There are healthy ways to cope – leaning on friends, having honest conversations, going to counseling or treatment, doing our best to believe better things, even something as simple as getting exercise. And there are unhealthy ways as well. For many of us, we begin to isolate so that no one can know us or love us or meet us in our questions. Instead of letting others help us fight to focus on the possibility of healing and change, we live alone staring at whatever’s broken or missing. Drugs and alcohol are a common way that people attempt to escape a reality they wish was different. It works at first, but then spins out of control, leading to addiction. We become chained to the thing we thought might make us free.
TWLOHA exists to say that you can start again, that rescue and recovery are possible and worth fighting for. You deserve friends. You deserve love. You deserve whatever help you need. But we know that so much of this hinges on hope. If recovery is the fire that warms away our long cold pain, hope is the spark that starts the fire. Hope gives us permission to believe a fire could come.
So here is something meant to be a spark:
You matter.
Yes You.
Your name is significant.
Nobody can replace you.
No one else can play your part.
You are living a story, rich with hopes and dreams and memories and we know there’s pain as well. Your story is priceless and sacred and unique. Your story is worth fighting for. Your story deserves other characters, other people invested in reminding you what’s true, reminding you you’re worth fighting for.
And what a cool thing that we get to be a character in the stories around us. We get to tell people that they matter, that they are not alone in their questions and their pain. We get to help people fight for their dreams.
You see, we are different but we’re also the same. We want love. We want our lives to count. We want to matter.
You’re not a nobody.
You’re a somebody.
You’re living a story and you’re surrounded by stories.
And everybody is somebody.
Peace to You.
jamie
PS: You are invited to join the conversation on Twitter. Tell us what #EverybodyIsSomebody means to you.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will be in theaters across America starting next Friday, May 2.
b.e.noll
“Everyone is relevant to someone.” – Mr. Finch [from person of Interest] Peter Parker was largely an overlooked social outcast. So his paying attention to Max [it’s briefly in the trailer] is significant because it’s kind of Parker coming full circle. From nobody to somebody, helping a nobody feel like a somebody. So I liked that. Most comic book heroes are different. Definitely the ones I relate to & like the most. It can be such a roller coaster. Sometimes you like being the “only one of your kind”. Sometimes it would be nice to be “normal”. Whatever that is. You can go intellectual about it. “If I wasn’t me…who would be me? What would be missing? Who else can I be?” An actor can only be someone else for a limited time. Eventually they revert back to themselves. Now I’m thinking of Over The Rhine’s song Good-bye [this is not good-bye] “…I don’t know who else to be, more & more I’m secretly just me…”
We all want to matter to someone. To be known by someone. To be able to count on someone….to be able to be the someone counted on. We want our stories to make sense. We want our story not to just be readable. We want to be a story that when it’s finished being read people go: “Did you READ this? You HAVE to read this story. It is so COOL!” We want people to stand up & cheer…that we’re still here. To read the dark parts & answer with a Subaru commercial statement: “They lived.” I know this is my desire. A “dream” if you will, & the fear is simply that that…won’t happen.
Thanks for this.
Those last statements… they sound like a new shirt…..
Emma Kay
I can’t believe how amazing God ia. Whwn I begin to doubt myself, he sends me ti TWLOHA. This is great and inspiring.
Doug
Jamie, I was blessed to have found TWLOHA and have been a changed man since that first encounter at Heavy & Light Orlando. I read the blog daily and share my story with others in hopes of changing their lives too. This posting today really hits hard and just want to thank you for what you are doing.
Peace & Love to you and everyone involved in helping us.
Fiona
Thank you, Jamie. Much needed tonight. You have helped so many wilthering souls including mine. Keep doing what you do! God bless. You are loved too.
Kimberli Conrad
Story of my life. It’s complicated admittedly. I often find myself in a storm for which I take responsibility in creating at times. I like to create sunshine. Dance in the rain. Spread love. I’d rather go penniless and know who I am and where I came from than to possess all the world holds dear in my bottomless pockets because I have learned that riches cannot satisfy the sweet longings of your soul. Life lived without love is simply empty. Void. I’ve taken a wrecking ball to the life I once knew but there is hope to create beauty from these ashes. Ground zero. Then there is change – some new horizons a stronger foundation, a clearer picture of both the wreckage, the pain. The damage may be intense, but I cling to the promises I know stand true. The sun comes after the rain. The storm will subside. This too shall pass and peace will overcome hate, bitterness, and despair. Good things come to those who wait, renew strength, and mount on wings like eagles. Good overcomes evil when you return evil with good. Kindness conquers. Victory is often just at your finger tips. Music motivates and soothes when all else fails. People and relationships bring substance to life in the abyss. The simple act of giving an ounce in faith has the power to move mountains. Power is in each beat of the hearts drum, each gasp of oxygen in your lungs, and each random act of kindness. Everyone is somebody worth love from somebody.
You are somebody too. I am. You are. He is. She is. We are. Keep on living. Keep on loving. Play your role. Sing your song. Dance to the rhythm that drives you.
Michael Hodzen
I am a recovering drug addict and also injury victim. Ever since i was a young kid I had very low self esteem. I was bullied a lot in school. I was kind of always the outcast. I started to use drugs while I was in my band just after graduating high school. I gave into the temptation and I got hooked. Spice K2 became my worst nightmare and then a closed head injury shortly to follow. I was hurt in a mosh pit at my bands show and got my jaw completely fractured in 3 places and had my jaw wired shut and was put on medication to keep me mentally stable. I had to go to rehab. I lost my entire life completely. After my recovery I got hooked up with the wrong crowd while trying to get out of what I had already dealt with. There is much more to my tale. if you would like to know more about my story add me on Instagram: _failureon_ , Twitter @mhodzen13. All I can say is there is something that kept me alive for a greater purpose. I endured what I endured for a reason….for spiritual growth…fight for your life back…don’t lose sight of your dreams.