At Sachem Farm, Higher Love, Trade Winds, Uncorked

I call it Uncorked and it’s the best movie you’ll never see.

Writing during the winter months isn’t the easiest thing to do. If you’ll notice, many blogs across the land have slowed down. There isn’t much to say. I suppose there’s the occasional snowstorm to discuss, but they get old after a while. All the plants are covered up, there are no new buds to talk about, I can’t even see the grass. I wouldn’t say it’s depressing…it’s just there.

The Winter isn’t a complete loss though because it forces people to slow down. I know this isn’t the popular thing to do these days because we have been trained to maintain constant movement, but if given a chance, I think it’s something worthwhile to try.

Okay, here’s the thing…and I am going to explain this the best way I know how. It surely won’t end up the way I intend it to, but perhaps someone will get something out of it.

You have most likely heard at least one person in the past few years say something like, “Gee, I just don’t know where the time goes.” Or maybe something like this…”Wow, that was over a year ago? It seems like just a few months ago.” Those kinds of statements remind us how fast time really flies as we get older. Honestly, if things stay like this for much longer, we’ll all be gone before we know it.

Now, think back to when you were a kid. It didn’t seem like time moved very fast back then, did it? It was almost like time dragged on forever. I mean, a school year was probably the longest period of time I could comprehend. The moment school let out for Winter vacation, I was absolutely certain I would never have to return. The time span was too great. Nine days. Even the weekends seemed to last forever.

I had a discussion with someone the other day that prompted me to say, “Yeah, I guess that was about twenty years ago.” Twenty years ago? Seriously? I don’t remember yesterday, much less twenty years ago. If that’s the case, then how does it feel like the past twenty years passed by so fast?

Perhaps our minds interpret time differently as we get older. Or, perhaps (and more probably) our lives have changed so drastically that we can’t even comprehend what natural time is any more. I think it’s not all too difficult to find the difference between now and then. All we need to do is compare what we were doing when we were kids and what we are doing now.

It’s very simple – when we were kids, we were bored and we dreaded most things we had to do. Now that we are adults, we aren’t bored anymore and we, for the most part, control our own destinies. There is a great disparity between someone’s interpretation of time when they are being forced to do something as opposed to deciding to do something and actually looking forward to it.

One of the most disturbing conditions I suffer from is the inability to think clearly. I am not talking about not being able to get work done or having my ability to solve problems hampered in some way. I am talking about clarity. I am talking about being able to think the way I used to think when I was ten years old. My mind is so clouded with surface thoughts that I rarely get back to being able to think with any amount of purpose. I think this is true among many people and it might be the cause of some serious issues, whether we know it or not.

I know I haven’t done a great job explaining what I am trying to say here, so let’s just think of it this way – when was the last time you thought with a clear mind? When was the last time you sat alone in a room and contemplated something other than what was on TV, whether or not the dishwasher was running, work on Monday, your vacation coming up, your stupid boss, money, etc…? Even when we think we are on a mental break, we still confuse ourselves with surface thoughts. When I sit down to read a book, I oftentimes lose track of what I am reading because I get lost in what I have to do later that day or evening. Throughout the day, I usually start new tasks before I am halfway finished with the current one.

That’s sad and that makes time move very fast.

Do you want to know the type of clear thought I am thinking of? Think about these questions:

• Do you remember getting off the school bus in third grade and walking back to your house?
• Do you remember finding that perfect sized rock to kick halfway home?
• Do you remember sitting in your backyard on a swing with absolutely nothing to do?
• Do you remember riding your bicycle alone when none of your friends were around?
• Do you remember what you were thinking of when you were doing these things?

I’ll answer that for you: Nothing.

I often think of what my final words will be. I often think I will say something like, “I wish I didn’t care so much.” Why is it that even though I know what is most important to me, I still find a way to ignore it and continue on the path I’m on? We’re all the same. I shouldn’t use only myself as an example here because we all do the same thing. We all want to slow down and get back to our roots. The problem is, none of us know how to do it.

You are probably wondering what this has to do with a movie entitled, “Uncorked.” Well, I’ll tell you.

If there is something worthy of my time, it’s finding this life. It’s removing myself from my surroundings and rediscovering who I am, similar to what some of the characters in this film have done.

I discovered this movie on March 3 of last year. It was a Sunday morning about 7am. I was sitting in the basement doing some work with the television on next to me. It was too early for my usual business show, so I had a random channel turned on, just to pass the time. I hadn’t noticed what was being shown until I heard a song that made me turn to the left. As I turned, I noticed some odd camera work that was slightly different than anything I had seen before.

I must have sat there for a half hour just staring at the television not knowing what to do. It was sort of like one of those dreams people have right before they wake up. So vivid, so clear, but so forgetful.

I tried to find out the name of the movie, but it proved to be more challenging than I had anticipated. Apparently, this film has about four names. I don’t know why. Even the Wikipedia page is vague. To this day, I can’t figure out why this movie is the way it is. It’s almost like the creators released it and then tried to take it back. Even the IMDb and Amazon pages are quite underwhelming.

Somehow, I finally found out its name. I did a search for it on Youtube and came across about nine ten minute clips. Someone was gracious enough to upload the movie. I found the scene I saw downstairs and have watched it probably over thirty times. It’s remarkable.

A few months ago, I was surprised to find that someone special had purchased the DVD for me. We watched the entire movie for the very first time. It’s now, by far, my favorite.

I wanted to share this with you because I want you to watch the ten minute scene. I know you might not be able to do it right now the way it’s supposed to be done, but I hope you keep it tucked away in your mind and come back to it when you are alone and you have time. Like a few other videos I have posted here, it’s worth it. If I had to choose, I would say this one is the most worth it. It’s a life changer and there’s a reason why I keep watching it.

Uncorked

If you made it through the entire thing, you’ll probably be asking what the song was that Rufus Sewell played. I’ll make it easy for you…it’s:

Ross Concert – Jeff Danna

I know I talk a lot about perspective, but this song is really something that helps put things back into it. It’s hard not to watch that video twice.

I should probably stop here. I am hoping for some comments on this movie so we can get some back and forth going. The nuances really are too much to ignore. After watching the entire movie and then coming back to this one clip, I discovered so much. The people who put this together really were thoughtful and did a very nice job.