"What is as important as a beautiful mind is a courageous heart."
This is one of the best movie lines I have heard. Incidentally, this line came from one of the best movies I have seen---A Beautiful Mind.
A Beautiful Mind is the heart-wrenching yet concomitantly inspiring true story of the Nobel-Prize laureate John Nash. This Princeton mathematician /economist plumbed into the depths of schizophrenia which ruined his career, family life and reputation but through sheer grit and determination, and with the help of his loving wife Alice, eventually redeemed himself. He was even bestowed one of the most coveted prizes in the academic/intellectual community ---The Nobel Prize (in Economics).
The movie offers a glimpse into the celebrated mathematician's sufferings. From a brilliant student to a young, promising professorin one of the best universities of the world (Princeton) he gradually succumbed to schizophrenia.
John Nash was excellently portrayed by the brilliant Russell Crowe. Through Crowe's performance, one can glean how a schizophrenic struggles with the disease. As portrayed in the movie, Nash sees people who are actually not there. He converses with relatives or acquaintances he had not seen for a long timebut are just reenacted by his imagination. For somebody who is well-educated, well-respected and who has a very, very promising future, to be afflicted with the (at the time) baffling disease of schizophrenia is the biggest blow one could be dealt with. Luckily for Nash, his very patient and understanding wife Alice (portrayed by Jennifer Connelly whose fine performance gave her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress) was with him through thick and thin.
John Nash's struggle as a schizophrenic is so palpable throughout the movie you can not but empathize with him. Anybody would feel crushed knowing one of the best minds of his generation is being slowly wasted and rendered useless by a stealthy, malevolent disease. Yet, what's awe-inspiring in the movie is how nash emerged triumphant from the disease which almost took away everything from him. He fought not just with his intellect but more so with his guts, heart and will. This part of the movie brings to mind the fair advice from well-meaning psychology experts that sheer intelligence may not be enough as any person goes through life's vicissitudes. One may also need to muster his heart, willpower and emotions (now collectively called "emotional intelligence"). As Connelly's Alice reminds us: "What is as important as a beautiful mind is a courageous heart."
John Nash would not be able to overcome his illness if he lacked willpower, determination and emotional fortitude coupled with the support, love and empathy of is family and friends which made him win over his debilitating illness. What made this movie especially meaningful for me is the fact that I have always been oriented to use my head more than my emotions. I have always put a premium on intelligence. I believe there are many people out there who are also like that. For me, I.Q. could be the be-all and end-all in this game called life. To wax poetic about it, reason is my primary weapon whenever I am faced with life's sticky situations. The movie taught me that there are many other human endowments as important, if not more important, than intellect. No matter how brilliant a person is, he still needs the support, attention and help of his family and friends. Through the help of his faithful wife Alice, family and friends, Nash was able to overcome his illness and eventually went on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics. Nash's story has taught to not only rely on my mental endowments but also on my emotional and relational strengths.
Indeed, what is as important as a beautiful mind is a courageous heart!
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