I FORGOT MY MANTRA

21 Dec I Forgot My Mantra

 I Forgot My Mantra 

The phrase “I forgot my mantra” is from 1977 Best Picture winner and my favorite Woody Allen film, Annie Hall. Jeff Goldblum made a cameo appearance, giving this famous, solitary line.

In my late 20’s, I watched Annie Hall for the first time and rewound Goldblum’s  scene over and over again. This brilliant bit depicts a man who is struggling to grasp the motions of a solution that’s eluding him. It resonated with me because it mirrored my life–desperately seeking more love and attention from a boyfriend who cared more about baseball than me (seriously, he told me that). 

Decades later, “I Forgot My Mantra” has proven to be a timeless phrase that easily crosses into our generation’s resurgence of interest in new age spiritualism and seeking answers from alternate resources. Our popular culture has put so much emphasis on self- help, yoga, meditation, talk therapy that I’ve definitely bought into that whole bag of stuff while seeking my own inner peace. But, with all of my soul searching, astrology readings, excessive exercise, daily mediations and therapists (yes, we have 3 on our rotating list for kids, marriage and family) I’m oftentimes exclaiming to myself, “WTF, I forgot my mantra!”  And I have always wondered who Jeff Goldblum was calling? His therapist? His mother? Dalai Lama? Girl he was trying to impress? Hare Krishna Guru? What do you think?