Get busy living or get busy dying - what I learned from Shawshank Redemption

One writer on IMDB.com says, "Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency” and made the comment that the best movies “touch the soul”.

If you have never seen Shawshank Redemption, then you are definitely missing out.  John and I just spent our afternoon watching this movie over lunch. It seems that I have watched it too many times but this award winning movie never fail to move me. 

Shawshank Redemption achieves greatness, indeed perfection. Not because of special effects, action or violence, it achieves greatness because it touches the soul with a straightforward “cinematic” experience filled with brilliant dialogue, excellent performances and a message of hope in the midst of darkness times. It’s a message that echoes deeply and grows more intense with each subsequent viewing of the film.

It is hard to fathom that a "prison" movie could be a source of tremendous hope, light and inspiration. Yet, to call Shawshank Redemption a prison movie is to minimize its greatness. It is a brilliant film, a study of humanity in all its wonder AND it happens to take place within the confines of a prison. 

The story is about a prominent young banker, Andy Dufresen (played by Tim Robbins), who is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his beautiful wife and lover, which he says he did not commit. He is sent to Shawshank Prison. Shortly after his arrival, Andy asks Red (played by Morgan Freeman), a man with the uncanny ability to acquire things from the outside world, to obtain a rock hammer so that Andy can carry on his hobby of rock carving. Over time, Andy and Red develop a close friendship. When the rock hammer arrives, Red musess that Andy might use it to dig his way out of Shawshank Prison. 

Andy offers his financial knowledge of tax and financial law to others and wins the protection of the guards and eventually frees himself from “The Sisters” attempted rape abuse. Eventually even the sadist warden comes to trust after Andy. In exchange for a comprehensive prison library, he ends up running massive money laundering for the warden.

But all goes awry when Shawshanks newest prisoner, a young punk named Tommy comes forward with shocking information. Andy, who’s spent twenty years in Shawshank prison, might be innocent after all.

It’s also mesmerizingly like criminal Botox: over 20 years no-one seems to age, except Andy who wears glasses...

Moving, brilliant, inspirational, hopeful and empowering are all the words I can think to describe The Shawshank Redemption. It teaches, challenges, inspires and evokes a wide array of emotions and thoughts that serve to remind us that in the darkest moments of our lives, there is always a light that shines within.

I am going to share with you some of life's lessons I have learned from this movie. 

Shawshank Redemption Lesson #1: Hope Never Dies 
In an emotional climactic part of this movie, Red is feeling hopeless and thinking he may never get out of prison and thinking that if he ever does, he won't know how to live outside of the prison walls that he has lived in for many decades. Andy responds... "There are places in this world that aren't made out of stone... there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That’s yours…."
 

Shawshank Redemption Lesson #2: You can do anything with just a little persistence
I've actually heard this lot from other people before. But what they don't tell you is that, in many situations, a tiny rock hammer is also required. Persistence, a major theme in many Hollywood movies, shows up in Shawshank Redemption also. When Andy takes over as the prison librarian, he wants to expand the library. He goes to the warden and asks his permission to write to the state asking for funds. Although the warden says that they won't give him any money, he allows him to write anyway. Andy writes a letter a week for many years, and finally they sent him some money and some books. Not satisfied and feelings almost written off, he decides to write 2 letters a week and eventually has $500 a year donated to the prison library system (This was around the 1950s, so $500 went a lot further then). Everyone told him it couldn't be done be he didn't care. He was rejected well over 100 times, but he still persisted and that persistence paid off.

Shawshank Redemption Lesson #3: "Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying" my favourite..
"You either get busy living or get busy dying." If you are not doing the things in your life that make you happy that allow you to truly live, then you are simply working on dying. “If you aren't living life then you are truly dying inside. Do what makes you happy. Spend time with family and friends. Enjoy what you have while you have it, because someday it may be gone.

There are probably many more of life's lessons that can be extracted from this movie, but I think that these are the top few. I hope that this will encourage you to watch the movie again, or if you did end up reading this without having seen it, to go and watch it and enjoy one of the best movies of all time.