The Mine

Recently, I watched a movie called Mine on Netflix. The film is about two soldiers on a mission in the desert. A very hot, hot desert where sandstorms are a common occurence. Regrettably, the mission does not go well. The "target" isn’t taken care of, if you get my drift. At any rate, these two soldiers need to traverse the very, very hot desert to get to a village five miles away so they can be picked up and taken back to safety. Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned.

While walking the sandy expanse, Soldier 1, played by Armie Hammer, gets the idea that there are mines everywhere. He’s not wrong. Or is he? Soldier 2, his mission partner, is thinking that Soldier 1 is making much ado about nothing. But as he’s walking backwards and laughing, he steps on a mine. Bye bye legs.

Soldier 1 takes a step forward and hears something click. Oh oh! These mines are tricky. You can stand on one and be OK, but if you remove your foot, it’s bye bye for you.

Soldier 1 begs his partner, who is now lying there with stumps for legs and losing his mind, to throw him the radio—the only thing standing between them and rescue. Soldier 2 tries to get the radio but lamentably decides to take a look at his bloody stumps. He can't help himself. Obviously, he doesn't like what he sees. You can't blame the guy. Instead of picking up the radio, he picks up his gun. Now, I totally understand the phrase, “He blew his brains out.” Yeah, that wasn't pretty.

Soldier 1 is now in trouble. Well, more trouble than originally imagined. His friend/comrade is dead, and he’s got no radio. What to do? There is hope, however, in this hopeless scenario. Soldier 1 is resourceful. Without lifting his foot off the mine, he manages (with his shoelace and a tool) to drag over the backpack with the radio. Phew!

He calls for help, explains his dire situation, and begs to be picked up. Much to his chagrin, help is 72 hours away. He knows he will not survive, because like I said, it’s very, very hot in the desert. And there are wolfs that come out at night to feast on whatever’s available. And Soldier 1 and 2 are definitely available. It's like the wolves have hit the food lottery.

To add to Soldier 1’s problems, there’s a sandstorm looming within walking distance. I mean it's right there ... Soldier 1 hunkers down and braves the storm making sure the whole time he doesn’t remove his foot from said mine. Despite everything, his will to survive is strong. Unluckily, the backpack with the radio gets blown away—too far to reach.

During this whole ordeal, there is a man from the village that spots Soldier 1. He brings him water (or his dead daughter does), and tells him that he will have to move, to make a decision. Staying there will surely mean death. Then the mysterious villager leaves.

Soldier 1, because he has nothing else to do, goes through his life—a life review, if you will, and considers all of his regrets. Sadly, this seems to happen when we’re sort of stuck and just about to die with no time to repair things.

More bad news, the rescue team on the way gets delayed because of the storm I mentioned (see above), and now the time for rescue is pushed back even more.

This is not looking good. This once handsome soldier now looks like he’s been through the ringer. Those wolf attacks leave him pretty beaten up. Did I mention that there were animals ready to feast? Yes, he fights them off in a blind rage—he is a well-trained soldier, after all—while managing to keep his foot in place the whole time, but there was a price to pay—angry and deep bites, for example.

So, where am I going with this? Eventually, it’s time to shit or get off the pot. You can imagine that kneeling on one leg, and being unable to move for more than 72 hours underneath a blaring sun, as well as being bombarded with sand, isn’t fun. At some point, you’re going to fall asleep, or just keel over. And he does.

BOOM? Nope. Nothing happens. He doesn’t explode. He’s in shock! He’s alive. He digs out the “explosive” except it's not an explosive … it's an empty can. Who would’ve thunk? He was imprisoned by the idea that he would die if he moved. It was an illusion. I mean, I get why he was scared, but he was imprisoned due to a thought. Moving finally set him free.

As I watched the movie, a realization came to me … how many times do we refuse to budge, to make a move, do something different, because we think it will kill us? At least psychologically.

Maybe you’re on a “mine” of your own: a job you hate, a toxic relationship, harboring anger and resentment, physical possessions that are weighing you down, etc.

Perhaps it’s time to take a chance … to get off your personal mine and start living a more joyful life.

Is there an illusory mine keeping you stuck? Consider deciding to move away from it. And maybe it won’t go BOOM! Maybe, instead, it will just set you free.