After watching the movie "Good Will Hunting," the only thing in my mind is the words Sean said to Will:
"You're just a kid, you don't even know what you're talking about. So if I ask you about art, you might give me the superficial theories from art books, about Michelangelo, you know a lot, his political passion, his relationship with the Pope, his indulgence in sex, you know all about that, right? But you don't even know the smell of the Sistine Chapel, do you? You've never stood there and looked up at the beautiful paintings on the ceiling, have you? Definitely not.
If I ask you about women, you can probably recite all the details, you may have been in bed a few times, but you can't tell me about the true joy in your heart when you wake up next to a woman.
You're young and bold, if I talk to you about war, you'll throw Shakespeare at me, recite "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers," but you've never been on the battlefield, you've never held your best friend's head in your arms, watching him take his last breath, looking at you, seeking help.
If I ask you about love, you might just recite some flowery words, but you've never experienced the complete devotion and understanding when you look into each other's eyes, as if God sent an angel to save you from the depths of hell, and you've never felt the deep affection and determination to stay by her side, even knowing she has a terminal illness. You've never experienced the pain of losing a loved one..."
When they first met, Will, due to his closed-off heart and sensitive nerves, dismissed any form of treatment and even found pleasure in causing trouble. After seeing Sean's painting of a lonely man rowing a boat, Will deduced that Sean was lonely and came from an unhappy family, and he used this to mock Sean. Sean became angry and physically confronted Will.
After being mocked by Will, Sean didn't give up on treating him like other therapists would, instead, he invited him out again to talk. The above words were spoken during their conversation. Will would never have expected that this therapist, whom he had made fun of, would retaliate in such a way.
This speech was Sean's counterattack, against Will's arrogance, against his exceptional talent but lack of respect for others. But at the same time, it was also a moment of spiritual communication. No one had ever been so honest with Will before, from childhood to adulthood, people either mistreated him or were impressed by his talent. Sean was the first person to expose his arrogance.
This speech feels like a heavy blow, hitting me in the head as well.
When we were young, we thought that by reading a few books and gaining some "life experience," we could talk arrogantly about certain things, thinking we were extraordinary. However, those were just empty arguments that anyone who read a book could know, hollow and without our own thoughts. Even after saying them, we couldn't explain what they meant.
We talk about the past, we talk about the future, discussing grand topics, but we never truly delve into the individuals within them. We talk about social classes, the lower class, we speak eloquently, but we never step into the shoes of a hunched soul, listening to them talk about an eight-dollar dinner and the coolness of a straw mat. We talk about traffic flow, conversion rates, but we overlook the fact that behind the traffic are real users, they pause, they contemplate, they leave, their traces are encapsulated by us in the shell of data, summarized into proprietary terms.
We read frantically, thinking that we have experienced numerous lives, but we find that it's all just "superficial knowledge gained from books." It's not that reading alone is bad, it's just that it's not the same as experiencing. Knowing and feeling, these two are completely different experiences.
I know that standing on a high place allows me to see far, but only when I actually reach the summit can I feel the exhilaration that no book can describe; I've watched too many food shows, but when I actually taste the food, the refreshing sensation that penetrates every taste bud cannot be conveyed by any show...
In photography, there is a saying: if your photo isn't good enough, then you're not close enough. Similarly, those happy and beautiful things require us to get close, to experience, to touch, to feel them rather than leaving them in descriptions.
I am willing to let go of everything, to practice, to get close, to touch, to experience that reality.