Brooks Was Here

 

POINT TO PONDER

When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves. 

                                                -Viktor E. Frankl

 

STORY LINE

Brooks is a character in the fantastic film, "The Shawshank Redemption." He went into prison when he was young and left 49 years later when he was an old man who had known nothing more than a life behind bars. 

Upon his release, Brooks finds the world has changed. People move faster. Cars, which he had seen once before going into prison, are everywhere. One nearly runs him over when he is released. The world in Brooks' view, "went and got itself in a big damn hurry." For the remainder of his time as a free man, he finds himself struggling to catch up, finding that he liked life in prison better than life outside of it. 

It becomes too much for Brooks and eventually he considers committing another crime to send him back to what he knows best - the federal penitentary. When he finds he doesn't have the strength to execute another crime to send him back, he takes his own life instead. 

Above the spot where he hangs himself, Brooks carves, "Brooks was here."  

 

REFLECTION

Often we run, hide, and self destruct in the face of change. This scene has always been profoundly sad to me because I never would have thought that prison would be a place that anyone would want to go. But for Brooks, it seems prison is the only place he wants to be because Brooks' prison isn't a place, it's the inability for him to hope and to change. His prison was in his mind. 

It makes me think of the things in our lives that are prisons and the reasons we stay within them. When we chose not to change, our inability to adapt can lead to stagnation. Stagnation means no movement. And no movement is akin to death.

We must keep moving. And changing. And growing. We must fight the prisons we set for ourselves in our mind. 

 

 

Comments

[Realist]

Consequence of staying in one environment too long, believing that was the world.

[Jamie]

This goes on my wall
When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves. -Viktor E. Frankl

Nice Story.

[Zhang]

Kind of Boiled Frog syndrome but not exactly. Use to one place, little movement then get paralysis.

[Rashmi]

The Frogs and the Well

Two Frogs lived together in a marsh. But one hot summer the marsh
dried up, and they left it to look for another place to live in: for
frogs like damp places if they can get them. By and by they came to
a deep well, and one of them looked down into it, and said to the
other, "This looks a nice cool place. Let us jump in and settle here."
But the other, who had a wiser head on his shoulders, replied, "Not so
fast, my friend. Supposing this well dried up like the marsh, how
should we get out again?"

[BHSC]

A very sad scene… but all to true for many, I fear.

Was it the drastic change in environment that drove him to do it… or the loss of the only friends he had? Or just the feeling many experience when we get older that we just don’t fit in anymore?
I tend to think it was the lack of friendship that drove him to such despair.

[Vince]

Brooks had no choice. Most have choice to rotate, take new assignment, make bigger network, learn more things. If they not take risk then economy force changes, they are scared. If change happened they cannot adjust. Sad story but easy solution.

[micro CEO]

Thank you for sharing. Truly is a thought-provoking scene from one of the greatest movies in my memory. Later in the film there is a powerful dialogue that is one of those heart-stopping moments for any viewer paying attention. The main character Andy (Tim Robbins) says later in the film with respect to changing circumstances, "It comes down to a simple choice: get busy living or get busy dying." This dialog eventually saves Red (Morgan Freeman) from repeating the sad fate of Brooks. You can see the scene embedded in this blog. http://successmentor.com/get-busy-living-or-get-busy-dying/

Here's a secret about micro CEO. I have been to Zihuatenejo. I hope to go again sometime. :-)

[Thinker]

You are right about inability to adjust causing issues. I think one of your readers is also right that it was probably lack or loss of friendship that drove him to commit suicide.

[California Guy]

I think of 2 things after reading this reflection.

I agree that it can be easier to leave a physical prison than a mental prison. Likewise, once a person has left a mental prison, then a physical prison becomes irrelevant. In the video from the previous Friday Reflection, Jim Carrey gives numerous examples for this concept - "I have no limits", "I can't be contained because I'm the container", "there is a huge difference between a dog that is going to eat you in your mind and an actual dog that is going to eat you", and many more. Our existence is what we make of it.

I also think that Brooks might have fared better after his release from prison if he was able to go quickly from the old prison social support structure to a new non-prison social support structure that could help him manage the shock of transition, much like when some soldiers have difficulty with adjustment to a non-war environment. This is even true when companies do major organizational changes, and some workers struggle to understand how to be contributors in the new organization. Change can be very frightening if a person does not understand how to survive in the new environment and has no trusted friend for advice.

[jerry]

A sad story.. not just make change to ourselves to jump out of prison in mind, also seeking outside assistance/advise is critical to ensure the smooth transition. so that you jump out of prison and still towards right direction.

[BQN old-time]

The "sad" story of Brooks is used to underscore the need for a decision when Red is paroled and arrives in the same room later in the film. As Andy said, shortly before he made his escape, "Get busy living, or get busy dying". The overall message of the film is positive because Andy's hope carries many others. And the last time we see that wall in the film is had an additional message - "Brooks was here", but "so was Red" - and he chose to run toward life and join Andy in Mexico.

[Ex Rable Rouser]

We can reflect on the story for many things. Although this may not be the intent of your message, I think this is an epic failure of our "punishment" or prison system. Prisons should not only be just places to punish people for their doing bad things to the society, they should be places for rehabilitation so they could rejoin the society and become productive citizens after their "punishments". In this case, we failed totally.