“I used to believe that who I was ended at the edge of my skin, that I had been given this little vehicle called the body from which to experience creation. Though I couldn’t have asked for a sportier model. It was, after all, a loaner and would have to be returned. Then, I learned that everything outside the vehicle was part of me too. And now I drive a convertible. Yeah man. Top down. Wind in my hair.”
For a man who has made such an incredible career for himself with his outlandish style of comedy, Jim Carrey has also faced his fair share of demons. For a significant period of his life, he was quite the tortured soul. If nothing else, this demonstrates at least two key insights about what life really means.
First, many of us have developed the habit of only looking within our own little bubbles. We build up these grand ambitions and we venture out into the world to make our dreams come true. We look at every situation, every decision, and every circumstance through the lens of a single question: “What’s in it for me?”
But as Jim Carrey expresses in the quote above, our existence is not bound to the interior of our cars (so to speak). Instead, it is only when we look beyond ourselves that we can truly experience life as it is meant to be experienced. It’s about driving the convertible, allowing the world to come to us, just as we roam around the world too.
Second, wealth, status and monetary success do not necessarily equate to happiness. Don’t get me wrong; they can be fantastic tools, but they are nothing more than means to an end… and you may not get the “end” that you desire anyhow.
“I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of so they can know that it’s not the answer.”
We spend so much of our lives chasing the carrot, only to realize that the carrot might not be all that great in the first place. As cliche as it may sound, life is far more about the experiences you share with the ones you love. It’s about the journey, whether you’re in a convoy of individual cars or you all get together on the same bus or train.
And Jim Carrey has had quite the journey. In recent years, he has attempted to re-invent himself as more of a serious actor. For me, I’ll always remember him as “James” Carrey from In Living Color
Let me tell you something!
Vera de Milo was the creepiest character ever!