Did you ever see the movie "Powder"? If you have, then watch it again real soon. I had not watched it since it was released. I loved it then. But it became one of those movies that I remember liking a lot, but not enough about it to think much on it. Recently I started thinking on it again. Maybe because of my recent thoughtfulness. You know, that stuff people go through every once in a while when they take stock of their lives and decide if they've amounted to much of anything? Yeah, I've been doing that for the better part of the last year or two.
I become real soul-full & thoughtful at times. I think about what people do to each other and even to themselves. I wonder if the world really is in balance. With so much pain, there must be a whole lot of bliss. But we must choose to see it. That is the problem. Pain is glamorous. Bliss isn't. There's a thought for you. Pain is glamorous. I guess that was made evident during gladiatorial competitions. That tradition has found its way into modern culture too. Boxing, pit fighting, cock fights.... if it involves pain, blood, violence, or anguish it becomes desireable, therefore glamorous. Sickening, really, but true.
So I watched Powder. What a beautiful story. Do you remember the story? Do you remember the message? Here's a hint:
What a wonderful concept. Its so simple yet so difficult to comprehend.
I have this idea about people. Yeah, that's us. (Civilized) People have this inherent desire to be noticed as an individual. We struggle to be disassociated from others. Yet at the same time, we yearn to belong to others like us... or more precisely, we yearn to be more like others that we like.
Is it so hard to accept that we are all connected? Is it so so hard to release the pressure of learned mores that dictate what our opinions should be? People can't seem to come to terms with the thought that they (you) can still be an individual, but as a part of something huge and fantastic! Like an engine (if you'll pardon the over-simplified analogy) an engine serves a single function as a singular unit, but relies on a myriad of individual parts to do the job. Of course, then you run into some yutz that wants to be the generator, or the fuel pump. They get so caught up in their individuality that they try make themselves more important than the other parts. They lose sight of the big picture.
I'm reminded of a scene in the TV series, "Firefly". One of my all time favorite shows, by the way. In the episode "Out of Gas" Capt. Mal Reynolds sends his crew off the ship because she, Serenity, is broken and not producing O2. The culprit turned out to be this small part (I don't recall what it was) but it was a simple fix, really. But he needed the part. Well, another ship picks up the distress signal and comes to Serenity. As it turns out, they have the part Mal needs. When Mal told the other guy what he needed, the visiting Capt. said, "That's a nothing part." And Mal replied, "It is till you ain't got one."
So anyway, that's the point. There's no such thing as a nothing part. (Except maybe for the appendix. People are still figuring on that one.)
We are all connected, my friends. Like it or not. Believe it or not. But sometimes it takes something like Powder to remind us.
Here is a parting shot of the movie that inspired this post, and inspired me to remember that there is balance out there. I just need to choose to see it!
Thanks for tuning in again! I appreciate it.
Be well
