Metier

"Kathy, I'm lost," I said,
though I knew she was sleeping,
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why.
Counting the cars on the New Jersey turnpike,
They've all gone to look for America"
Paul Simon - America

Forrest Gump's great gift was clarity of heart. He lived a transparent life without the comfort of an emotional veil or disguise. The popularity of the character was due to the fact that Forrest was the manifestation and expression of his own internal rhythms and lived life for all to see at the mercy of his reactive 'self'.

Forrest Gump's destiny was to live each day tossed by the waves of life that we all experience without a the stabilizing sail or keel that every person needs to stay afloat. This story was narrated to the audience as Forrest was about to embark on the most tragic event of his life, the death of his beautiful Jenny. As pragmatic as ever, Forrest endures this death and sees the gift of his child and the chance to be a father as a hopeful chapter in his life. Having lived a life of shocking clarity and earnest intensity, the character has no need for redemption and there is no tragedy to be found in his simple journey. It is rare in real life when we are introduced to an adult person who has been blessed (or cursed) with the gift of perfect introspection.

Clarity of heart is the natural gift that children have. Adults must protect this fragile ripple until the child experiences their own journey through life. Then, hopefully, the grown adult will carry the memory of what it was like to be hopeful and trusting and to see the broad scope of life as a series of challenges rather than an impending tsunami. Better yet, life could just simply be like a box of chocolates.

mé·tier
Variant(s): also me·tier \ˈme-ˌtyā, me-ˈ\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Old French mestier, from Vulgar Latin *misterium, alteration of Latin ministerium work, ministry
Date: 1792
1 : vocation or trade 2 : an area of activity in which one excels : forte