Zihuatanejo ; A place with no memory

I wrote about the film Shawshank Redemption late last year and how it has a profound impact on me and to many who had watched it. In one of the most powerful scenes in the movie, Andy Dufresne talked to Red about 'a warm place in the Pacific' called Zihuatanejo. Tim Robbins who acted as Andy later expressed his thoughts in an interview :

' In the end, it's a film about people being in jail and having hope to get out of that jail. Now, why is that universal? Not everybody has been in jail. But maybe on a deeper level, a metaphysical level, people feel enslaved by their environments, their jobs, their relationships, by whatever it is in the course of their lives that puts the wall or the bars around them. And the idea that you can survive many, many years in this kind of enslavement, or prison of your own making, and that there's a Zihuatanejo somewhere in your future - i think that's something that really is important to people ; the idea that Zihuatanejo can exist for all of us. '

It was much later that i found out that Zihuatanejo is actually a real place in Mexico. In the movie, Andy described it as 'a place with no memory' and one where he wants to live the rest of his life, if he ever gets out of prison. This scene has a strong impact on me and one that has been constantly replaying in my mind for some time. I had just received news yesterday of my posting out to a new place of work from next year onwards. After five years in the current place, this was something i had been looking forward to for a long while and during this whole period, i had really wondered if i can ever get out of this place where i struggle constantly and daily to find meaning in my work. This blog post was conceived in my head a long time ago but i have really thought if this will ever materialize here and finally, it has now become a reality.

This will be my last few months in the place and i am looking forward to begin a new life in a new place in the new year and when that day comes, i will leave behind all memories of the place before except for some, of the wonderful people i had known and worked together. I am beginning to understand this is how life should be, to discard the bad and unwanted but to keep the little ones that's good.

'Suds On The Roof' is an uplifting short instrumental found in the soundtrack to this movie.

'A warm place with no memory,
that's where i want to live out the rest of my life...'

- Andy Dufresne