"I AM", a documentary by Tom Shadyac finally opened in SLC today and I went to the first showtime. I'd been keeping an eye on this ever since I saw him on Oprah. I'm not an Oprah watcher either, so it's funny that when I've caught it a handful of times this year it's been something that's had a huge impact on me. Maybe I'm missing something not watching regularly. Anyway.
I could write a novel about what I saw today, but I won't. I still need to process and think.
All I want to say is see this. Please, please, please see this. And tell everyone you know to see it.
http://www.iamthedoc.com/
What if we didn't take more than we need? What if you learned that in is in our DNA to cooperate, not compete, with each other? And that in other countries and cultures the kind of greed and competition is actually considered mental illness? What if you realized and always remembered that all other humans, animals and nature are our relatives? What if you recognized that our society has gotten it wrong with what we celebrate and what we have lost sight of? What if it really hits you that no one is neutral and every one of us can make a difference? What if you started thinking about everything as one? That you're breathing the same air, right now that the dinosaurs, Joan of Arc and Jesus Christ once breathed?
If more of us seriously changed the way we thought, changed our collective consciousness, we could make a difference.
There would never be a reason to go to war.
I found a quote when I came home that was very fitting:
When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world. ~Author Unknown
You can hear something a million times but until you're truly ready to hear it, they're just words. "One person can make a difference." I thought for so long I was, in fact neutral. I actually have said that in being just one person it doesn't matter what I do, because how will little me change anything? But today I learned that I, just as much as you, contribute to the collective consciousness. And we do. All of us.
I went through so many emotions while watching this. I was angry, I was sad, I was embarrassed at our society and what I've and we've bought into as success and what is "important". But by the end I was hopeful. Hopeful that others will see this documentary, or more will be made with the same kinds of ideas. That more people will have that chance to hear or see something that touches and teaches them.
In having my eyes opened and starting to become so much more aware, I feel a kind of contentment and comfort like I've never felt before.
There are times, when thinking about the subject, I wonder why I'd ever want to bring a baby into a world obsessed with looks, fame and money. But I do see a hope for a better, different, community based society. Yes. There is hope. It starts here and now and what we teach and pass on. I think this documentary should be required in schools. Required for humanity, actually.
Again, it doesn't matter what you believe religiously or what you know scientifically. It doesn't matter if you follow your head or your heart. Just see it.
As Rumi says, "Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment."
Do it for an hour and a half while seeing this film and I promise you'll learn something new and profound about yourself.
No comments:
Post a Comment