We have been talking about the movie Good Will Hunting, which focuses on the relationship between a young man and his psychotherapist. Some of the best stories I know are about the relationship between two people, one older and one younger, a mentor and a mentee. The mentor is very experienced and has a lot to offer, and the younger person is often in great need — but the most surprising element in these stories is that there are things in the mentor’s life which need attending to as well. By the end of the story, it has become clear they are truly helping each other where they most need it. We are all broken, yet we all can offer something very valuable to someone else, no matter how broken we are.

And we have been talking about two kingdoms, and two selves; something this movie will illustrate very well in the context of the plot.

Our story very creatively places our main character, Will, in a relationship with two very different men, his psychotherapist and this MIT math professor. The rest of the story is about just how different these two men are, just how differently they interact with Will, and the different “parts” of Will they are trying to cultivate.

The math professor really just wants to spend time with Will, to bask in the glory of their brilliant minds. He worships his own brilliance, and Will’s, and this is an excellent example of the false self, a self which seeks its satisfaction in the things of this life. The kingdom of this world is based on performance, and so, true satisfaction and security can never come from it. This becomes obvious in the story before long, as it becomes increasingly difficult for the math professor to feel anything but self-contempt, for Will is so much more brilliant than him.

In contrast, the therapist, Sean, focuses on what he should be focusing on — Will’s greatest wounds and how a history of neglect and abuse left him terrified to truly get close to anyone. His therapeutic work is based on the belief that love and relationship are more important than anything else and where true contentment of the heart comes from. A belief that is not only true, but has come from God’s original design. When Sean relates this way to Will, he is appealing to his true self, a self that Will has never been able to grab hold of, for he has been so damaged.

And truly, this is the first time that anyone in his life has ever made the attempt to honestly and lovingly get close to Will; to talk about real things, etc. This impacts Will greatly, as it should. As the story progresses, and the two of them get closer and closer, Will truly shares his heart with Sean, especially about a young lady in his life. Will has never been this vulnerable with anyone, ever.

Interestingly enough, Sean has never recovered from the loss of his wife to cancer and having to watch and agonize over the years of her slow decline. He has been subsisting emotionally for several years, and although he pretends well, he has lost hope that life could ever be truly satisfying again. As he helps Will to come to terms with very similar things, he begins to wake up himself, to have hope, to come back to life.

We can live our lives pursuing the things of this world as ends in themselves, and we can be wounded by others in this life and get stuck in self-contempt, as if our lives depend on the validation of others. Neither of these things is true, they are both elements of the false self.

Or we can realize deep in our hearts that we were made for love, to love and be loved, and for romantic love in particular. This was God’s idea, His design.

Sean patiently and thoughtfully searched for Will’s true self that was hiding in the shadows after a lifetime of neglect. He found Will’s true self, his good self, and coaxed it out of hiding, luring it, by convincing Will that only love could truly satisfy him, that love was what he was made for. Will had never been able to admit to himself that love was what he most needed. Sean had always known it, but the pain and agony of losing the love of his life has caused to forget it, to lose hope he could ever feel any of love’s blessings again. In the end, they both are smiling, for they both lifted each other up.

Next time, let’s bring our discussion of this story to an end. Why is it important? What, quite simply, is Good Will Hunting saying to us?

Hope to see you then.

Sam