;)
*Spoiler Alert: The SECOND Paragraph in this post contains information that reveals important plot points in the film it references. If you have not yet watched the movie and plan to do so in the future, some of the content in the 2nd Paragraph might spoil the plot and your viewing experience. Read at your own risk.
“You’re right, I can do this. I found the edge. Can you live there with me?” is what a Wall Street lawyer named Gavin Banek asks his wife Cynthia in the dramatic thriller “Changing Lanes” starring Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson. It is a question that we must all ask ourselves when making decisions that not only affect other people, but also challenge the very core of what we believe in as individuals – especially if our choices involve dishonesty.
Gavin had been in panic mode after his father-in-law, a partner named Stephen Delano at the law firm where he works, asks him to forge a power of appointment. Stephen’s belief that, overall, he does more good than harm, enables his justification for manipulating the court system and their dead client’s family. A vicious cat-and-mouse game with an irate father named Doyle Gipson, however, causes Gavin to struggle for balance when realizing he is surrounded by a world of stealing, lying and cheating – in the name of the law. When Gavin’s choices put him in over his head, Cynthia tells him that they live in a world where “when a man comes to the edge of things, he has to commit – to staying there, and living there.”
;)
At its most basic level, this movie is about the consequences (albeit exaggerated in some cases) of road rage, but Gavin and Cynthia’s perceptions of the edge illustrates something more profound – a principle that we can all learn from and live by. Every day, in every situation, the lanes that we’re in reflect our choices when aiming for a particular outcome.
It’s sometimes as trivial as returning clothing store items that you wore multiple times, and often, it’s also as heavy as gossiping in the workplace, fighting with your family over who gets what in the will of a deceased loved one, deliberately taking credit for work you did not do or possessing materials that belong to someone else.
Whether you are a pedestrian, bicycle rider, skateboarder, driver, etc. on the road of life, there is always a choice on which lane you’re going to be in. The decision to stay in one or the other or merge back and forth between the two is ours – and so are the outcomes that follow. Lucky, there are exists on many of these roads, giving us an option to opt out at any time to prevent delays or accidents that could occur a few miles ahead if we continue. If our winnings on the routes that we take come at the cost of another person’s misfortune, damage or suffering due to mischievous behavior on our part, then we are creating a disturbance in the world.
;)
It is the type of conduct that contributes to an unbalanced, trouble environment where people get over on each other, operating under a dog-eat-dog philosophy. If you want to live that kind of life, don’t be surprised when the individuals who you are trying to impress turn out to be the very people who are not to be trusted by anyone.
Don’t try to suddenly act noble when you realize that the people you’re set out to destroy might be the same people who are in a position to help you obtain the things you actually need. Don’t get angry when an opponent tries to beat you at your own game.
If you have no interest in living that kind of life, then it helps to find the edge of existence where your day-to-day actions are concerned. The edge is that moment when you choose between greed and integrity. The edge is the position in which you decide what’s more important – rules or rebellion. The edge is that place where you reclaim who you are by prioritizing your values over all else. You have to pick a lane, find that edge and then ask the question – can you live there with yourself?
In what circumstances do you believe you’ve done more good than harm?
In what situations have you done more harm than good?