Is This Scene From The Simpsons the Key to a Happier Life?
Let go, Homer.
I’ve been thinking for ages about this scene from The Simpsons: the one where Homer tries to steal a soda and ends up with his arms stuck inside two separate vending machines.
It might be a perfect metaphor for the ways we sabotage ourselves and let desire, greed, and the stories we tell lead us horribly astray.
Or maybe it’s just a hilarious scene from a cartoon and I need to get out more. You decide.
If you have a minute, I recommend watching the scene before reading my interpretation of it:
We are all Homer (sometimes).
Homer is a wonderful character because he is both a fool controlled by his urges and, I think, fundamentally well meaning.
He’s not trying to break Marge’s heart, or give in to his overwhelming desire for junk food, or really do any of the bad stuff he ends up doing.
He just can’t seem to help himself.
I often feel that way too.
I’ve never been stuck inside a vending machine, but I’ve certainly ended up in situations of my own making that feel just about as ridiculous and embarrassing. Maybe you have too.
I love this scene because it helps me think through how those situations come about and how I might improve my approach so that I can stop sticking my arms where they don’t belong.
Here are the lessons I took from Homer’s predicament.
Unconstrained desires will lead you to betray what matters.
At the end of his workday at the nuclear power plant, Homer — who is supposed to take his wife Marge to the ballet that evening — walks past a vending machine selling Crystal Buzz cola.
Homer knows he has to take Marge to the ballet, and even though he doesn’t want to, some part of him knows it’s the right thing to do.
But when he sees a tempting treat, his desire overwhelms his better self, and he needs to get his hands on it.
For most of us, our desires may not control us quite as obviously as Homer’s. But I can call to mind many situations in which I found myself wanting something that’s not good for me — especially when I know I have something to do that I’m not that excited about, and am looking for anything that will take my mind off it.
Giving in to those desires can lead us to let down the people we care about most.
Cheating to win is cheating yourself.
Homer is overcome with a strong desire for a can of soda, but when he turns out his pockets, he discovers there’s no money in there. So in an attempt to “stick it to the man” and get what he wants for free, he decides to steal a can, shoving his whole arm into the machine and becoming stuck.
Sure, sticking it to the man sounds good.
But trying to get something you don’t need with resources you don’t have — stealing from the rich to give to your greedy self — never works very well.
Somewhere inside you, you know that you don’t deserve what you took, and that knowledge will trap you.
If giving in to your desire requires you to cheat or lie or steal, think very hard before you do it. It’s probably going to lead you into a bad situation.
Don’t panic when you feel trapped.
Homer can’t get his arm free, so he panics and starts dragging the machine along behind him, trying to make it home to take Marge to the dance performance.
It can be easy to get overwhelmed and try to drag our burden with us when we find we’ve made a mistake.
But it never works. It weighs you down and you can’t get where you need to go.
Stop. See how you’re trapped. Think about what’s possible.
Because if you don’t, you can easily make things even worse…
In moments of weakness, we make bad decisions.
As he tries to make it home with a vending machine attached to his body, Homer encounters another vending machine, this one selling candy. And that’s the story he’s forced to tell Marge when he calls her to let her know he won’t be taking her to the ballet: he’s stuck inside two vending machines.
A second vending machine, Homer? Really?
Of course.
At the moment he encounters the candy machine, Homer’s alone. He’s trapped. He knows he’s letting down the most important person in his life.
And he sees something soothing and familiar.
Maybe candy will help.
But the candy we reach for at moments like that — whether it takes the form of alcohol, digital distractions, or any other unhealthy way of avoiding reality — never does help.
If you find yourself reaching for ever more extreme treats when you’re in pain, it’s likely you’re using them to avoid facing what’s happening.
That will only make things worse.
As Leonard Cohen sings, “you are locked into your suffering and your pleasures are the seal.”
Destroying yourself to escape isn’t wise.
Eventually, a technician arrives with a circular saw to give Homer the regrettable news that the only solution is to cut off both of his arms.
In the darkest moments, it can seem like the only way out is to ruin a part of yourself — to rip to pieces the parts of you that are causing you trouble, scorch the earth and start again.
Maybe you can tell yourself that the parts you destroy will grow back. That’s the story Homer decides to tell himself.
In reality, this kind of solution could scar you for life, and might be significantly worse than whatever you find yourself trapped inside.
But if you really consider the situation you might discover there’s another way.
It usually looks like this:
Let go if you want to be free.
Another worker discovers that Homer is only “trapped” because he’s still holding on to the can and the candy. He asks whether Homer is holding on and that’s why he can’t get his arms free. “Your point being?” Homer responds, and is laughed out of the power plant as everyone realizes that he was only trapped because he refused to let go.
All he has to do to get out is let go of the soda can and the candy bar.
He’s not trapped by the machines — he’s trapped because he’s holding on to his dream of pleasure.
This doesn’t even occur to him throughout the whole ordeal.
Homer is naive, and silly, and this scene plays on how extreme those traits are in his character.
But be honest with yourself. Aren’t there areas of your life where you’re hurting and trapped, and you feel like the only thing you can do is hold on tighter or rip off your (metaphorical) limbs to change things? Aren’t there things you’re not willing to let go of, even though they’re causing you serious trouble?
I have a bunch of things like that. Beliefs. Habits. They seem sweet, but they keep me stuck.
Lately I’ve been finding new ways to let go.
To recognize the stories for what they are.
To accept that my momentary desires aren’t as important as the loves in my life, my connection to others and the world.
And when I am able to — when I drop the can and the candy, and slide my arms free, and walk outside free — it feels like being reborn.
Risk being laughed at.
Homer is mocked by everyone for his foolishness. Once everyone realizes that he was only trapped by his own choices, they laugh him out of the factory.
Maybe you’re afraid that will happen to you.
Maybe you’re afraid that by admitting you have been causing a lot of your pain, you’ll expose yourself to shame.
It could happen, in a limited way.
Some people who don’t want to look at themselves might see you changing and take the opportunity to reaffirm that they are smart and infallible by mocking you.
If they do, you’ve learned something about them. But their unkind response has nothing to do with you.
And for the most part, no one will notice you’ve changed. That you’re freer than you used to be, and you don’t crave things that are bad for you the same way anymore.
Wouldn’t it be great if Homer had made it home on time and taken care of his long-suffering partner? Shown her (and himself) that she’s the most important person in his life? Done what is truly good for him and his life?
That’s what I take away from this scene. And that’s why I’ll keep trying to let go of that (sweet, sweet, sweet) can.