After watching the recent film release, ‘Glass‘ by M. Night Shyamalan, a quote from Kevin (actor James McAvoy) has stained my thinking. He says,
It’s not so bad being in the light.
If you have watched ‘Split‘ or have any prequel knowledge to the character of Kevin (without me providing any or further SPOILERS), there’s insight into why Kevin’s personalities formed. A key element to this (in my opinion) was LOVE.
Lack, no or mis-used love can deeply affect a person. Whether it is initiated by that individual themselves or inflicted by another, its effects can be damaging to a person’s whole well-being. We see an example of this with Kevin, having unfortunate results.
Kevin became lost in being protected by his other personalities. Most of us can identify with hiding behind something in order to avoid dealing with situations or circumstances from our past, especially if we were deeply hurt in our hearts.
We all have our hiding experiences. Sometimes it is just easier to let another voice take over. Look at Adam and Eve when they disobeyed what God had instructed them to do (Genesis 3) – they hid. Elijah hid from Jezebel – we all have our moments with our personal reasons.
Kevin’s horrific past caused him to hide amongst others who would protect him – no more being in the light or having to face what happened. The thing is that at some point in our lives, that which we feel or think crushed us can actually present itself before us again.
In the latter part of the film we see this through an encounter between Kevin and Casey. Casey (actress Anya Taylor-Joy), previously ill-treated by Kevin and his personalities, reintroduces LOVE back to Kevin. Bypassing all his other personalities through true, genuine care and affection, Casey brought Kevin back to the surface.
True love will always bring us out of hiding if we are courageous enough to make the choice to be open to it. True love will always cause us to come out of the darkness. True love will present us with questions as to why we are hiding and what we are hiding from.
God called out to Adam in the garden (Genesis 3:9),
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
God came to Elijah in his cave (1Kings 19:13),
When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Why would He not do the same for us?
It takes strength and courage to face our past, the things that we think and feel crushed us – to deal with what happened and its effects on us. In an earlier exchange between Kevin and Casey, Kevin came to the surface but wasn’t ready to face his past. It’s not always the walk in the park we wish it would be. Kevin hid for a little longer – do you?
In the latter part of the film there is another exchange between Casey and Kevin. This is the thing I love about TRUE LOVE, it presents itself more than once to us – it’s relentless in coming back to help us.
In this later encounter, The Beast is present. Kevin’s worst state is present when love comes knocking. This is quite like reality, when we are at our most vulnerable, weakest, cruelest, animalistic, hard heartened state, love comes knocking at our door trying to come in. I think we can identify with Kevin, don’t you?
One touch from Casey caused Kevin to resurface even though the Beast was in control. True love, if we allow it, will bring us back to our original state. No matter how hurt, vulnerable, damaged or broken we are, true love knows how to break through and transform us. True love tells us it may hurt or look impossible, but that there is a way out.
I always thought that The Beast was the strongest, but I was soo wrong… Kevin is the strongest. For me, Casey represented true love – someone that will cause you to become who you really are… your true self.
The Bible says God is love (1John 4:7). It also says that He stands at the door knocking and will come in if we let Him (Revelation 3:20). If a film can show what true love from a person can do, how much more can love Himself do for us?
Kevin (for me) represents humanity. Life can break us and we suffer at its hands, but I believe that TRUE LOVE can heal, deliver and transform us into the person that we were always meant to be, created to be… our true selves.
I hope you will find strength and courage to let love in. No matter what your past and other voices tell you, TRUE LOVE will always conquer all.