Have a "Bronco Billy" Moment

A 1980 film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as the title character, Bronco Billy chronicles the misadventures of a traveling wild west show troupe, led by Bronco Billy, the "fastest gun in the west." While the film wasn't well received by audiences at the time of its release, as a recent viewer, I loved its simple honesty, revealing, heart-touching moments, and understated, witty humor. (The fact that it features a performance and a couple of songs by Merle Haggard probably helps too!) But this isn't a film review so bear with me.

It could be said that Billy's fatal flaw is his pride, which often leads to explosive bursts of temper that are always getting him into trouble. My favorite scene of the film involves a turning point for Billy when he meets with a local sheriff to win his friend's release from jail. In the scene, Billy endures humiliating and even provoking taunts from the sheriff without reacting or fighting back, and ultimately succeeds in freeing his friend. But not without a struggle - a struggle which Eastwood's expressive face depicts in the most vivid, yet honest and subtlely powerful way.  Outwardly seeing this type of grappling, which we all encounter inwardly on a daily basis, minus the film crew to capture it, was at once deeply moving and inspiring to me. So much so that after this, I began to notice similar opportunities in my life, and I would find myself saying, "Ah, that was a Bronco Billy moment." In other words, I had been on the threshold of responding to something in the same way I always had, usually a pretty nonproductive way, and I had been alert enough to catch myself and choose differently. Yes!

I think it's safe to say that we all have those situations or people that seem to pop up time and again invoking that same less than resourceful response, the habitual, knee-jerk reaction that seems to take over before we have a choice in the matter, and usually leaves us feeling embarrassed, guilty, ashamed, or regretful. We, like Bronco Billy, can progress beyond these confining patterns. And as with Billy, who's love for and unselfish desire to help his friend, gave him the strength to have his shining moment, it is often an unselfed love that inspires us to move beyond our own robot-like reactions. And the really, really wonderful thing is that no matter how many times we may have fallen into the trap, we always have another chance to do better next time, and to have our very own "Bronco Billy Moment!" I'm finding that these occurences are well worth watching for and never leave us where they find us. Perhaps you too will begin looking for and finding your own Bronco Billy moments.

Here's a link to part of the scene