lars and the real girl; us in the real world.

today i was reminded of Lars and the real girl, a movie that i am very much fond of. it's about this socially awkward guy call Lars (ryan gosling), who lives in one of those small towns where everyone in the community knows one another. though he's very quiet & hence difficult to relate to, Lars is gentle, kind & helpful - and the town loves him. anyway, one day, he's got this strange mental health illness, whereby he becomes obessed with this life-size doll called bianca. bianca became his imaginary girlfriend. the movie develops as the community accepts not only lars & his strangeness, but also the doll (yes the doll) into their routine. as the layers are peeled away, lars also heals from the pains of his past.

something about the movie tugs at my heart. don't you think everyone is a 'lars' - in a way whereby we all have our little quirks and strangeness. if we shut the doors against anyone who is a little different, we shut the doors to ourselves. and the loss will be ours.