A friend of mine posted this link on facebook and, as I opened it up and saw it was a 7-minute video, I nearly closed it, as I generally tend only to watch things that last about 3 minutes. My days are busy.
But I felt compelled to watch it. I started it up and the first 20 seconds already seemed important. And, as I watched the video unfold, something stirred in me. Tears almost immediately welled in my eyes, and the last couple minutes were pretty blurry going.
My wise, humble husband keeps an allotment of change in his car, which he gives to panhandlers, mainly at stop lights as they offer to clean his windows. Late last fall, with the cold of the arriving winter just around the corner, he thought of the young man we always ran into during our Saturday breakfast routine - the man with the kind eyes, selling tissues or sponges from an old duffle bag, who we always shared a couple words with. Andrea came home and gathered a bag of clothes and shoes for this young man and brought them to him that next weekend. In a slow, meaningful voice, Andrea explained to a questioning Sofia that he was helping the man out because the man didn't have a lot of material things, but he needed warm clothes to get through the winter.
Later on, to me, Andrea admitted that this life...this often dreary, lonely, stressful life...had little meaning to him if not that of helping others - or, more precisely, connecting with others.
This video speaks the same truth as my husband: we are, all of us, inter-connected, and thus reliant on one another. The kindness of strangers. And the more we attempt to live our lives for ourselves only, the more we feel the disconnect. It's true, just like this video describes...think of your moments of boredom, and the unmistakable, underlying melancholy that we automatically feel. Haven't you ever wondered why it's always there, just beneath the surface?
Have a look at this video and let me know what you think of it. I myself found it quite inspiring, I think you will too...
Upworthy video: Science has been misleading you about some fundamental truths
No comments:
Post a Comment