“There is No Spoon” and other brilliant insights gleaned from The Matrix

by | Feb 13, 2015 | Crisis 101, Resources and Recommendations

Complete Matrix Trilogy

Buy on Amazon

Computer programmer, Mr. Anderson, is living in a world that’s not real – it’s an illusion. This “not real” world is called “the matrix”. This 3-part journey centers on Mr. Anderson growing up – as it were – embracing his truth and saving the (real) world.

Ask any of my friends, colleagues or clients and they will tell you that these are my favorite movies. I’m a huge sci-fi fan. But it’s not the fiction or the fight scenes that keep me coming back. View these movies through the lens of crisis and you’ll see a young man experiencing a critical incident when he leaves the matrix. Suddenly, up is down, left is right. His “world” is no longer his familiar. He is confused, lost, unsure and uncertain. Neo is in crisis.

One of my favorite scenes is when Neo visits the Oracle for the first time. He enters the apartment to find gifted kids floating balls and bending spoons. He sits in front of the little boy who’s bending a spoon with his mind. Here’s the exchange:

Boy: Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead… only try to realize the truth.

Neo: What truth?

Boy: There is no spoon.

Neo: There is no spoon?

Boy: Then you’ll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.

I sit with people who try to “bend” reality back to the way it was. Understandably, they want to return to their previous “world” – the one before the incident. They want to live in a world where their son survived the accident… where they never went through that door… where they stopped the bullet …

The Matrix demonstrates that to survive in this “new” reality, we must be resilient – able to bend ourselves without breaking. The Matrix also demonstrates the importance of friends and teammates – people that listen to us, comfort us and empower us to believe that we are “the one”.

Spoiler Alert – near the end of the first movie, Neo discovers for himself what others have believed the whole time: he is the one. He is the master of his fate. He may not be in control of the world around him, but does control how he lives in it. He is responsible for himself and his actions. He accepts his limitations. He understands boundaries and teaches others how to treat him.

It’s on that last point – when the “Agents” raise their weapons and fire their guns that Neo simply raises his hand and says, “No.” It is this clip that I have played so many times. This is this moment when Neo not just survives his “new world,” but recognizes how truly capable and powerful he is in it.

Additional Resources:

 

Dorie is a partner and co-founder of Crisis Support Solutions, LLC. Dorie counsels individuals and groups on various issues ranging from stress/trauma, depression/anxiety, relationship/family, grief/loss, victimization, etc. She trains coordinated and managed crisis intervention teams at multiple locations. Dorie has developed and taught courses in basic and advanced crisis intervention training programs. She is also a Compassion Fatigue Educator with the Academy of Traumatology.