Today, I did something I’ve never done before.
I went to a movie all by myself. I’m not sure why I haven’t done that before. I saw the Elton John biopic.
So, “Rocketman” was great. And it ends hopefully but, by and large, I found it to be overwhelmingly sad along the way–I’m not ashamed to admit I teared up several times.
If you’ve seen it, I’d love to hear your experience watching the film.
I see Elton John as an incredibly complex man who never felt he was good enough, and who, despite all his accomplishments probably, still feels inadequate and perhaps as though he is a fraud–chronic low self esteem combined, at times, with a superiority complex.
The movie ended with a flash of words on the screen saying that Elton John has been sober for 28 years. That means he got sober around the age of 43 or 44 years old.
That’s exciting.
And especially hopeful.
My notion is that sobriety doesn’t always bring you peace. Perhaps you can make better choices that don’t lead to chaos and confusion, but, well, you know, life is life–and all that that entails. I imagine sobriety does offer you a way to meet the challenges of life with a certain equanimity and, as they say in the 12-step word, the ability to meet “calamity with serenity.”
Besides, as we all know, mars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids .
In fact, it’s cold as hell.
Here’s a link to a variety article I found where Elton John talks about his sobriety.
Click here to be taken there….
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By the way, that’s clearly not Elton John playing the piano. That’s a picture my friend Beth Hooper made of me when we were exploring and abandoned school. I was on stage playing the theme from Mary Tyler Moore in a dark dark auditorium.
