Inception

This afternoon we were in the car. On the radio a song with the lyrics "You saved me from myself" was playing.

Josh asked, "How could someone be saved from themselves?"

I replied, "Well one way could be if they had really negative self-thought, like 'I'm bad, I'm terrible, I'm worthless.' and someone helped them to realize that negative thinking wasn't true."

"So, like, their therapist?" Josh asked.

"Therapists definitely could help their clients eliminate negative self-thinking, but people who love and care about the person could help them realize it too, like friends and family."

"I see."

"The funny thing about negative self-thought, though, is usually it comes from someone else saying those negative things about you first. 'You're bad. You're terrible. You're worthless.' After so long hearing those things your mind changes it to 'I'm bad.' etc."

"So it's just like Inception," Josh said. "Inception /is/ possible."

And there I sat slack-jawed and mind-blown.

But seriously, I love how movies and music and other forms of media help give us launching pads and aids for contemplating abstract ideas.