Hidden Life lessons from the Maze Runner: Part 1 – 2014
I recently just watched The Maze Runner: Part 1 from 2014 and “Oh Boi”, I cannot fathom how many life lessons flew over my head as a teenage boy, lol, walk with me.
The movie opens with the protagonist( Thomas) being taken up by an elevator. As he wakes up and finds himself in the elevator ( this is old and mainly made of iron), he begins to try to find a way to get out of the elevator and sees a white light from above. When he reaches where the light is coming from above, he is met with a group of boys called the Gladers.
According to their story, these boys have been kept in a safe place that looked like a small green village while still being trapped in an ever-changing maze, and the only thing they got back was their names.
They would realize escaping is almost impossible because the world was scorched by the sun, and they were kept for experimental purposes by a company named “WCKD”, as they have something in their system that makes them immune to the “flare” virus that has plagued humanity.
The existing mantra of their leader;
“Anything we need, the box always provides”.
keeps the boys in check, and provides a sense of fulfiment and — i daresay — peace. This reminds me of a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson;
“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds”
The story, to me, gives the metaphor of being stuck in with limiting beliefs. Beliefs that you don’t want to challenge because authorities have told you that this is correct, therefore, it is.
Thomas on the other hand, questioned the maze and couldn’t bear to think there was no way out of the it. It did not matter that he was laughed at, mocked, and ridiculed, he continued to believe there was a way out of the maze. And was there a way?
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Of course!
However, the only way out of the maze was filled with green-looking spider robots that could sting, badly.
When you are about to change or improve, life brings many obstacles along the way, but those obstacles are to strengthen your mental fortitude for the challenges ahead. Life is a never-ending circle of challenges but that is what makes it fun.
“A life without challenges is not a fulfilled life”
Thomas and his small group of friends fought back the monsters and escaped the maze, although some people died including Chuck!!!
That’s life again. Sometimes, to move forward in life, you will lose a lot of people close to you. You will have to have to move on.
A simple reference to my favorite sentences; “Humans always find a way so long they have a vision.”
So, some of the life lessons I got from rewatching The Maze Runner are :
- Always question and test your beliefs. The way you think now may just be holding you back.
- Life is full of challenges, but he who faces his challenges will come to the top.
- Humans will always find a way. I like to think it’s our nature to do so.
If you enjoyed this, then you will enjoy the movie even better.
I just got a call from my sister while writing this, and we talked about moving on she said something; “as long as they are still alive, you can still reach out”.
I guess that’s her own lesson,lol.
