“You can do what you want, and make up your own rules. Why be a servant to the law, when you can be its master?”
These are the words of the Bohdisattva, better known as Bohdi, portrayed by late and great Patrick Swayze in the 1991 cult classic Point Break. Many look at Point Break as an action flick with a surfing mentality, but I view it as so much more. It’s a story about discovering who you really are and getting lost in doing what you love.
The movie opens up simultaneously with FBI agent Johnny Utah(played by Keanu Reeves) training in an obstacle course and a group of bank robbers pulling a heist in suits and mask of former presidents, hence the name “Ex-Presidents.” As the movie progresses, Johnny is told he will go undercover as a surfer after his partner Angelo Papas discovers evidence that point to the Ex-Presidents being surfers. Utah then forms a relationship with Tyler, a surfer with a tough exterior that falls into a vulnerable state of love as she teaches Johnny to surf while he’s undercover(unbeknownst to her). Johnny then meets Bohdi, and begins to live the life of an “adrenaline junkie,” constantly surfing and even skydiving. Not only this, but he also learns Bohdi’s philosophy of the human spirit and becoming one with your surroundings. When Bohdi finds out about Utah being undercover, he forces him into a heist that went bad and lives are lost. The movie’s ending is set nine months later, with Johnny holding Bohdi captive on a beach in Australia, where the 50-year-storm that Bohdi so desperately desires to ride is present. Bohdi convinces Jonny to let him ride the “ultimate ride,” presumably losing his life while riding in the wave and Johnny throwing is FBI badge into the ocean, leaving his line of work. While Reeves provide an admirable performance, Swayze is what makes the movie. Not only in his acting style, but in his words and philosophy.
In many ways, Bohdi is similar to infamous Tyler Durden, the devil-may-care anarchist from the 1999 cult classic, Fight Club. Both have detached themselves from societies standard of living, they have liberated themselves from materialistic values that damage the human spirt and both participate in life threatening acts as a form of radical psycho-enlightenment. Their words are powerful enough to convince even the most mentally rugged man to give up a life of conformity and follow them in their quest for mankind’s emancipation from false veneration. He explicitly states this by saying “What’s the matter with you guys? This was never about the money, this was about us against the system. That system that kills the human spirit. We stand for something. We are here to show those guys that are inching their way on the freeways in their metal coffins that the human sprit is still alive.” Bohdi gives several more quotes that stick out to the viewers. However, there are a couple quotes that I believe sum up not only the film’s theme of spiritual epiphanies, but sum up the human experience.
“If you want the ultimate, you have to be willing to pay the ultimate price.”
Everybody at some point in their lives will come across something they desire to have, achieve or experience. But it won’t come without giving something up. For some, this scenario may happen all too often. However, it shouldn’t always be seen in a negative connotation. How many times have we heard stories of our contemporaries and elders, both close to us and those in the media, that have made sacrifices in their lives for something they desire and it worked out remarkably for them in the end. Look at people who have everything financially, yet sacrifice it on their pursuit of happiness. Look at parents who unexpectedly have children, yet they feel more complete then ever before once they become parents, We may give up parts of our lifestyles, fame, fortune and even those close to us, but the outcome can be even better than we imagines. Sacrifice can be painful, but it can also be precious.
“Fear causes hesitation. Hesitation will cause your worst fears to comes true.”
Let’s take a moment and examine the fear that dictates our lives. Some of us aren’t outgoing or courageous as we should be because we fear rejection. We don’t take as many risks because we fear failure. We don’t get to know people because we fear attachment. The list goes on. Rather than letting fear control us, we need to channel that fear into motivation to overcome ourselves. For the greatest adversary you will ever face in this life is yourself. Once you have overcome your fears, insecurities and anxieties, you have won the greatest battle known to man. Once you liberate yourself of these demons, you’ll achieve what Bohdi would call “100 percent pure adrenaline.”
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