Reel Life

Last weekend was spent watching movies for some quiet time that left me renewed in spirit.

I was hesitant to watch Invictus at first but I'm glad I did for  it exceeded my expectations.  It spoke to the very heart of me, about love of country and the need for inspiration and heroes for our generation.

I was reminded of my own motherland, needing to be liberated from the things that are holding it back - poverty and corruption. South Africa's Nelson Mandela, the main character being portrayed, reminded me so much of Ninoy Aquino, a Filipino hero who died for his country 27 years ago, seeking freedom for his people who were oppressed by a dictator.

Both Mandela and Aquino espoused non-violent change, following the inspiration of India's Mahatma Gandhi and America's Martin Luther King. All great men they were. Men who had integrity and faith, and a deep love for their country.

What can unite a country? What can bring it inspiration? Perhaps, through something as neutral as sports, where dreams and aspirations are played out, or through the universal language of music and art. I was quite amazed at how South Africa's Springboks rugby team can unite a nation wounded by apartheid, just like how the Philippine's Manny Pacquiao can bring Filipinos together wherever they are in the world whenever he steps into a boxing ring.

I believe change is possible without blood being spilled. That spirit of non-violent transformation was felt during the 1986 People Power, now finding its concrete expression on the ground through Gawad Kalinga, which seeks to bring change in the grassroots through the simple but profound means of caring and sharing. Some dreams bear fruit in time.

After Invictus, I was inspired to watch Crossing Over , a story about the many desperate ways  illegal immigrants employ in order to stay in the land of milk and honey and how it would often rob them of dignity and cause them unnecessary pain. The story reminded me how blessed I was to be living in my own country, a first-class citizen, with opportunities that abound in a developing economy.

It also reminded me of the many poor people in our land who live in the slums, deprived of human basic needs, feeling that they are second-class citizens in their own motherland. I share the dream of seeing them restored in dignity and helping them realize that they are a first-class race with the blood of noble heroes running through their veins. I believe it would happen in my lifetime, with God's grace.

I ended the movie marathon with What Dreams may Come, a surreal but beautiful depiction of what happens in the after life. Reminds me also of the of the often hard certainty that we all will die sooner or later. This is a cliche but it is true, love is one of the few things that endures to eternity.

What struck me about this movie is its portrayal of the gates of hell with broken, sinking ships. Ships that  never reached their destination. 

I've always likened life's journey to a ship traveling in the vast wide ocean. Our destination is heaven, our home is a journey towards God. A lot of people live their lives like there is no deadline, like there is no end. I am scared to live my life with regrets. I reckon that to love someone in any way each day is to live each day to the fullest.

Placing importance on making beautiful moments and cherishing experiences over the pursuit of material things which are only tools you use in the pursuit of happiness but not the source of it, puts things in perspective.

I particularly like Max Lucado's metaphor on life being a cruise in a big ship:  Explore the amenities, appreciate the surroundings, make good friends along the way, but be ready to get off when you arrive at your destination. Do not be too attached to things that you can't keep moving forward.

While in your journey, savor every experience, learn from them, never give up,  grow,  share, love. When the end credits comes, we would have made a beautiful ending to our real life.. Would it be a story of inspiration or one of regret? The choice is ours to make every day, reflected in the way we live our lives.

Invictus

by William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul. 


May our lives reach its destination.