The other day I met a woman who kinda knocked my socks off. I’d talked to her a few times on the phone, and exchanged lots of emails, but this was the first face-to-face. She’s smart, has a lovely, infectious smile and a real easy-going presence that naturally draws you into conversation.
She’s also got an engagement ring… which I can’t lie was a little disappointing, but even so… just after that five minute conversation, she’s the kind of woman that brought to mind a quote from a scene from that movie As Good As It Gets, with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt:
Melvin: I’ve got a really great compliment for you, and it’s true.
Carol: I’m so afraid you’re about to say something awful.
Melvin: Don’t be pessimistic, it’s not your style. Okay, here I go: Clearly, a mistake. I’ve got this, what – ailment? My doctor, a shrink that I used to go to all the time, he says that in fifty or sixty percent of the cases, a pill really helps. I *hate* pills, very dangerous thing, pills. Hate. I’m using the word “hate” here, about pills. Hate. My compliment is, that night when you came over and told me that you would never… all right, well, you were there, you know what you said. Well, my compliment to you is, the next morning, I started taking the pills.
Carol: I don’t quite get how that’s a compliment for me.
Melvin: You make me want to be a better man.
Carol: …That’s maybe the best compliment of my life.
Melvin: Well, maybe I overshot a little, because I was aiming at just enough to keep you from walking out.
You make me want to be a better man. I think there’s something to be said about having a Muse, someone to inspire and motivate you. Sure, you need to love yourself enough to want to do things for yourself, for your own happiness, health and well-being, and I do have that (contributing to what I call my Glass Half-Full Mojo). I also have my kids that make me want to be a good example, a loving father, and to take care of my health and well-being so I can be around for them for many years to come. I’ve also got a loving family I want to be there for as well.
But as a man… there’s something about women that takes it up a notch and really makes you want to be at your best.
Now in the movie As Good As It Gets, Melvin (played by Nicholson) is an outrageous jerk (in part because of a neurological condition), and when he talks about being a better man, he’s talking about trying to be more generous, caring and thoughtful. While those are things we all should strive to be more of, I think I already do a pretty good job of covering those bases. For me, I need a Muse to help motivate me to step up my workout routine, to exercise more, and eat healthy. To be able to put a better foot forward when meeting women.
This woman I met… for now, I think she’ll be my Better Man’s Muse (she… and a few others). Not because I’d want her to leave her fiance for me– that’s both evil and unrealistic– but… I’d like to be a better man, the kind of man that would prompt a woman like that to have the fleeting thought…. hm, I almost wish I were single…
