What’s The Point?

I enjoy watching the old James Bond Classics. I must have seen each of the movies in the James Bond Series at-least four to five times each.

In each of these movies, there are some scenes that are indelibly etched in the mind.

This evening, I remembered a particular scene from one of the lesser acclaimed James Bond movies of Roger Moore, ” Live and Let Die.”

This happens in the second half of the movie. James Bond is in a spot of trouble where the villain has him captured and dumped in the middle of an alligator-infested pond. The smell of human blood warms the alligators to the potential of a feast !!.

James Bond is cornered and in a seemingly impossible situation. As a teenager, I remember being transfixed with that scene- What would James Bond do? How will he escape?

James Bond uses the alligators as his stepping stones. He nimbly jumps alligator to alligator and reaches the outer perimeter of the Pond in a flash. Searching for this scene on Youtube, I found it here- James Bond Live and Let Die Crocodile Jump.

As I have grown older, this daring escape scene has remained with me as an interesting metaphor for how we should deal with challenges and issues.

James Bond knew that he was in a tight spot, but he also knew what he needed to do. His purpose at that point was clear.

He had to cross the swamp and not fight the alligators.

We are all heroes of our own life story. How do we deal with the problems, issues which are like the alligators in our life? What is the frame of reference for us?

Do we fight the alligators hoping to defeat them all, or do we use the problems as a springboard to jump over and get to where we want to go?

There are some battles worth fighting; there are others worth stepping over because they will suck your energy and keep you away from where you want to go.

The point of your battles should always be to get you to your destination.