The Inspirational Voices of Jim Carrey and Charlie Chaplin

In today’s world we tend to try to over compensate for what we think we lack. But, do we lack anything? That is the big question. We all have dreams, and they’re not like anyone else’s. That’s what makes us unique as individuals. Nevertheless, it seems the ways of the world have derailed our own values of who we are. We don’t think we can simply be ME. Me as in; I’m Missy, and when I was young, I wanted to talk. Simple as that, my main dream was to want to speak out and show everyone I had a voice, but I was shy, and with that came people’s perceptions of what I would be able to achieve in life. They labeled me. Everywhere I went, people, including my parents, would make a whole big deal of how I wouldn’t say a word, and a lot of times, they would pressure me so much to talk, that it made me crawl back in my shell just a little farther. I think of those times, and I think; what would have happened if I was only looked at as quiet Missy, never pressured to come out of my shell before I was ready to shine? Would I have grabbed a better life, made fewer mistakes, and felt more confident? Would it have taken this long to love myself? I mean, inside of me, that was my dream to talk and show the world that I was normal and funny, and smart just like everyone else seemed to be. However, that is the key word isn’t it; Seemed?

Two speeches that I listen to often for inspiration, come from a comedian back in the forgotten era, and the reigning comedian of all comedians today. I’m talking about Charlie Chaplin and Jim Carrey. However, in the aspect of life, let’s take a closer look at them as not just great comedians, but as people; people with insights into their own reason for being here. They are personas that had their personal demons to overcome and egos to bury in order to find the true meaning of what they were here to do. And it’s not being the greatest entertainers of all time; it is, in fact, finding your niche in this world that makes you happy, and if god wills, to make others happy too. It’s about simply being yourself! Taking control and feeding your own soul happiness no matter what others may think is wrong in you doing that. What I believe Jim and Charlie both learned through life, is that it doesn’t have to be about being the King of Comedy. It doesn’t have to be about being the King or Queen of anything, for that matter. Life is not about that.

Unfortunately, most of us get caught up in the delusion of what life is supposed to be. I watched an interview with Jim Carrey, where he was asked if he was a certain religion. He was asked; are you a Buddhist? His answer was quite brilliant. He responded; "I’m Buddhist. I'm Muslim. I'm a Christian. I'm whatever you want me to be. It all comes down to the same thing; you are either in a loving place, or you’re in an unloving place." And this was Jim, to me, out-casting himself from other peoples rules to pick one way to be. It was his stand to finally feel free of common rules of what we are told life should be, and following what his soul was telling him. For me, his soul was saying; be you, be one, there is no limits.

Jim Carrey, there is so much I could say here about this man. I have researched him and watched interview after interview, and I am in awe of his inspiration. It’s the type of inspirational outlook I try to have myself these days.

I remember Jim, as you probably do, starting off on the Television comedy hit “In Living Color.” I remember he was the one I wanted to watch. Boy, he knew how to make us laugh! However, today as I have watched Jim in many movies and interviews, I somehow now notice the turmoil he had to go through as a person in order to get into the frame of mind he is in at present. Not that he doesn’t love his comedic side, I believe he does, I just believe he can love it more now than he did when he started. His vision of his craft has changed to not only doing it to make others laugh in the midst of forgetting pain, as how he did for his mother, and also to move up in the world to fit into a certain popular genre group in Hollywood. It has now become fun to entertain. I believe it brings to him a better purpose of living now, and although we all still have struggles to overcome, including Jim Carrey, I believe he does this with a better understanding of why he is who he is.

Charlie Chaplin, a comedy genius who started his career around the 1920s in silent films, was an inspiration to his generation, and to those who have taken the time to go back and learn about him, he is an inspiration to some of us today. I know very little about Charlie’s life except for watching him in a few silent films, and for his role in the movie “The Great Dictatorship” in which Charlie Chaplin himself, wrote, directed, and produced. It was his first voice over film and one to remember. It is indeed the speech Charlie makes that has stood out to most of us today. This is the epic speech I will be posting here. I believe it is not only part of that movie, but it is values that Charlie had himself, his vision of how life should be.

When I was a kid and when there were cartoons on Saturday mornings and old movies on Sunday; I remember watching the old Laurel and Hardy skits; the Betty Boop cartoon was, and still is, one of my favorite cartoons of all time, and, of course, I loved the silent film reels they played of Charlie Chaplin.

As I have mentioned before, I grew up being an observant. It’s funny how I only related this part of me to being shy, but now I realize what a profound gift it is to be observing. It’s helped me see things in such a better perspective. This is what I noticed about Charlie in his silent films. His eyes told the story, his movement made the show. I think he was similar to Jim Carrey this way, as it is told that Charlie also had an up and down roller coaster of emotions in life; trying to fit in and not really wanting to.

The attempt to find our own identity, to some is a tremendous heavy burden at times. It seems to fall on the more creative people of society. I don’t know why, but it does. Is that a gift or a falter for us? I think all of us that can relate to this, will say we faltered a lot in life trying to be something or somebody we were not. However, it is a genuine joy in our later lives when we realize the true gift it is to be extremely observant, incredibly loving, and forgiving to all others. I mean, this is what we are. And for us, this is who we should be. Some may not agree, but that is alright, when we reach a certain point of understanding this in our lives, we don’t need approval. We are free!

Please enjoy and listen carefully to the videos of both Charlie Chaplin and Jim Carrey that I have posted here. I believe you will see what my inspiration for this hub is. I will be interested in knowing if you get my point to this article in the poll I post. I love to see your answers there, and if you choose, read your responses in comments, so please do. Have a Great Day! ~Missy

PS – I’ve decided to leave poetry out of this hub. Although I believe I could come up with a relating poem, I really just wanted to write about these two comedians and how they inspire.