Cast Away
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Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 46
Cast Away
Today was an emotional day. It's day 23 and thankfully I still have not one ounce of a desire to drink. It's actually far from my mind, I just still feel this huge void of loneliness. Earlier, I laid around after my workout, cried a bit, told myself GET IT OUT. I'm so serious about really living again that anytime I feel sad, I have no choice but to limit it. I can't let it consume me anymore.
So after a couple of hours, I got outta bed, turned on Netflix. Tom Hanks is one of my fave actors so I did a search on him, I decided to watch Cast Away. Only watched it once before when it first came out back in 2000, and I've always been meaning to rewatch. Now was better a time than ever.
Throughout these early days of sobriety, I've been feeling fear, guilt, anxiety, desperation, sadness, you name it, all of the above. Thats exactly what I saw in Chuck (Tom) after he washed up on that deserted island. So you can relate, the island symbolizes the place he dwells in isolation. I think it's safe to say that's the best way to describe sobriety in the beginning, you have to isolate yourself from the life you used to live. The water that surrounds him symbolizes life as he knows it now and regardless of whatever he is feeling or going thru on that island, life still moves right along. Nothing we can do about that, we have to adapt for the better. Toms life before he got on that plane symbolizes everything he used to be and the actual plane crashing symbolizes him hitting rock bottom or being forced from his usual comfort zone.
If you are familiar with the film, you'll remember his beloved, Kelly and she symbolizes what he wants to get back to, what keeps him going. Wilson, the volleyball, symbolizes his higher power, or confidante that kept him sane, allowed him to vent, and all the other packages that washed up on the island with Chuck represent everything that he used and needed to survive.
A couple other things, I actually wrote down, include his bad tooth and how he knocked it out on his own. Immediately I thought about all of the bad things that weigh us down/or make us feel bad and though it may hurt, we have to get rid of it (hello bad habits).
The one unopened package that he delivered at the end symbolizes hope. He kept that with him the entire four years on that island, him holding on to that gave him purpose.
All his failed attempts to get off the island demonstrate how he just wasn't ready yet, he still had more work to do in order to be fully prepared within himself to get back thru the water (life). He needed to get stronger first, he needed more time...and the self discipline it took to make the homemade raft symbolize the support he needed while back in the water. It didn't happen overnight, he even went thru more storms but he was prepared and later, rescued.
Chuck said this in the film while discussing why he had no choice but to survive, "I know what I've got to do. I've got to keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will come up and you never know what the tide may bring in."
Phenomenal film and if you can, watch it for yourself. I promise it will uplift your spirit or could change the perspective on whatever your going thru at the moment.
It's only just a moment, things will get better, and Faith is a must for survival.
I wrote all this down and put it up on my mirror, where I can see it everyday.
So after a couple of hours, I got outta bed, turned on Netflix. Tom Hanks is one of my fave actors so I did a search on him, I decided to watch Cast Away. Only watched it once before when it first came out back in 2000, and I've always been meaning to rewatch. Now was better a time than ever.
Throughout these early days of sobriety, I've been feeling fear, guilt, anxiety, desperation, sadness, you name it, all of the above. Thats exactly what I saw in Chuck (Tom) after he washed up on that deserted island. So you can relate, the island symbolizes the place he dwells in isolation. I think it's safe to say that's the best way to describe sobriety in the beginning, you have to isolate yourself from the life you used to live. The water that surrounds him symbolizes life as he knows it now and regardless of whatever he is feeling or going thru on that island, life still moves right along. Nothing we can do about that, we have to adapt for the better. Toms life before he got on that plane symbolizes everything he used to be and the actual plane crashing symbolizes him hitting rock bottom or being forced from his usual comfort zone.
If you are familiar with the film, you'll remember his beloved, Kelly and she symbolizes what he wants to get back to, what keeps him going. Wilson, the volleyball, symbolizes his higher power, or confidante that kept him sane, allowed him to vent, and all the other packages that washed up on the island with Chuck represent everything that he used and needed to survive.
A couple other things, I actually wrote down, include his bad tooth and how he knocked it out on his own. Immediately I thought about all of the bad things that weigh us down/or make us feel bad and though it may hurt, we have to get rid of it (hello bad habits).
The one unopened package that he delivered at the end symbolizes hope. He kept that with him the entire four years on that island, him holding on to that gave him purpose.
All his failed attempts to get off the island demonstrate how he just wasn't ready yet, he still had more work to do in order to be fully prepared within himself to get back thru the water (life). He needed to get stronger first, he needed more time...and the self discipline it took to make the homemade raft symbolize the support he needed while back in the water. It didn't happen overnight, he even went thru more storms but he was prepared and later, rescued.
Chuck said this in the film while discussing why he had no choice but to survive, "I know what I've got to do. I've got to keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will come up and you never know what the tide may bring in."
Phenomenal film and if you can, watch it for yourself. I promise it will uplift your spirit or could change the perspective on whatever your going thru at the moment.
It's only just a moment, things will get better, and Faith is a must for survival.
I wrote all this down and put it up on my mirror, where I can see it everyday.
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Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 6,902
Glad you found your way past the loneliness - it can be a bugger. As someone said (probably on an AA speaker recording, I'm not sure) 'Loneliness presses every self-pity button we have' - and our AVs have a field day with self-pity!
Great insight into the film as well - thanks. I will try to remember this so I can enjoy it in the school holidays (when they finally arrive).
I know you went to AA - are you still going? It may be worth upping your involvement in meetings. I know that it was while I was putting out chairs; helping wash up or make the tea, etc. that I felt that I was really getting to know people. Also having a sponsor (and other numbers) you can call can be massively helpful in the fight against loneliness.
Hope you're feeling better today
Great insight into the film as well - thanks. I will try to remember this so I can enjoy it in the school holidays (when they finally arrive).
I know you went to AA - are you still going? It may be worth upping your involvement in meetings. I know that it was while I was putting out chairs; helping wash up or make the tea, etc. that I felt that I was really getting to know people. Also having a sponsor (and other numbers) you can call can be massively helpful in the fight against loneliness.
Hope you're feeling better today
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Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 5
I may rewatch that movie tonight. Everything you said made a lot of sense and I can definitely see the similarities in sobriety struggles and his. It also made me think about how it could be worse. Okay, so I can't drink. I could be stranded on a desert island. Which is really worse? lol
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 8,076
Great insights into the movie. I liked the final scene when he was standing in the middle of the intersection. (More like a crossroads.). You could look at it like he was finally free from the prison of alcoholism and, could finally choose his path in life.
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Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 46
Originally Posted by Beccybean 
Glad you found your way past the loneliness - it can be a bugger. As someone said (probably on an AA speaker recording, I'm not sure) 'Loneliness presses every self-pity button we have' - and our AVs have a field day with self-pity!
Great insight into the film as well - thanks. I will try to remember this so I can enjoy it in the school holidays (when they finally arrive).
I know you went to AA - are you still going? It may be worth upping your involvement in meetings. I know that it was while I was putting out chairs; helping wash up or make the tea, etc. that I felt that I was really getting to know people. Also having a sponsor (and other numbers) you can call can be massively helpful in the fight against loneliness.
Hope you're feeling better today
Great insight into the film as well - thanks. I will try to remember this so I can enjoy it in the school holidays (when they finally arrive).
I know you went to AA - are you still going? It may be worth upping your involvement in meetings. I know that it was while I was putting out chairs; helping wash up or make the tea, etc. that I felt that I was really getting to know people. Also having a sponsor (and other numbers) you can call can be massively helpful in the fight against loneliness.
Hope you're feeling better today
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 46
Originally Posted by jsm273
Great insights into the movie. I liked the final scene when he was standing in the middle of the intersection. (More like a crossroads.). You could look at it like he was finally free from the prison of alcoholism and, could finally choose his path in life.
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