The Kick

The movie Inception, directed and written by Christopher Nolan in 2010, is a beautifully orchestrated performance and narrative starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The movie follows the idea of living in a dream-like state. The kick, is a metaphoric wake-up call or literal kick back into reality. I have had a major life kick lately, shattering my own complacency. In the movie, the main character yearns for his old life in his dreams, but the kick is always necessary to force him to let go of a world that isn’t real. For my own life, this kick has rocked me in different ways, from different angles and at different times of 2026 thus far. The most recent kick and crisis, has shown me my own humanity and weaknesses. The physical world is now demanding my return to reality.

Psychologically, the mind needs a kick from time to time. With my own chemical imbalance, too many stressors over time impact my wellness. While I know all of this as an aspiring mental health professional and with personal experience, it’s easily forgotten caring for others. It’s easily forgotten when you are a mother, a wife, have multiple roles and jobs, and have expectations. What is even more evident to me now, is how easily I have forgotten to protect my peace. In a way I needed to be awoken.

In the movie, the kick is administered by a sudden or abrupt physical impact on the body. One scene in the movie that I vividly remember experiencing in the theater in San Diego, the seats shook and vibrated when a train on the screen hitting the car initiated a kick. I physically and literally felt this watching the movie, with the cool effect of the fancy vibrating movie chairs. Sometimes the initial kick in the movie isn’t enough and it takes intricate layered planning to withdraw the characters from dreams. I feel as if I have created this too within my mind. Here I am now. Using every skill I have to get back to the reality I want and need.

The movie concludes with a spinning totem, a small heavy object used to verify what is real. My own personal totems or anchors, are what grounds me through this kick and the others to function in this reality. I know one thing that has to change is my self-worth and boundaries. I must rewrite my availability to others and focus on what matters. I will be working one full time job and two PRN jobs moving forward. My time is limited and that time I prioritize myself and my health. To perform my roles and maintain this pace, I must be mindful of my limitations. I must recognize that in order to be functioning well, my overall goal is to keep my health maintained. The rule of the kick in the movie is that it is supposed to disrupt your balance. The discomfort of the kick I am feeling isn’t a sign that I am falling. It is a sign I am actively waking up and conquering the present reality.