a half-finished love affair

I woke up on the right side of the bed today...then I saw Cloud Atlas and it got even better.

It was a story version of I Am (for those of you who have seen that documentary), a story of human connection, of how our lives are connected to past lives, other present lives, and futures lives...in somewhat of a Samsara kind of way, but also in a way us dualistic westerners can make sense of. Our actions, our love, our kindness, and even our evil affects the lives all around us, the lives of people who will come after us, and likewise our lives are affected by those who have come before us. It is stories of people who give up their lives for the good of others, for the good of life altogether, and for life to come. A story of love--the ultimate connection we make with others.

If I am asked what kind of spirituality I have, I would say that it's the most practical a religion could be. I feel so connected to the life around me, to people, to plants, to animals, to the earth, that talking about metaphysical beings or after-life seems useless and meaningless. I find so much meaning in the life around me, I need nothing more. What an idea this movie suggests that when we meet people who we feel we've known forever,  perhaps we have known them in a previous lifetime. Or, when we lose someone we feel a deep connection to, maybe we know them in another life, later. Not the most rational thought, but logic is pretty useless anyway. What a beautiful thought, though. And, it's different than the afterlife, because it's within the beauty of life as we know it, not some made up, imagined future universe. I know I've felt it/I feel it.

That's my pitch. Go see it. Disclaimer: you may weep. I know I sat in between my two friends, all three of us weeping.

"Fear. Belief. Love. Phenomena that determine the course of our lives. These forces begin long before we are born, and continue long after we perish."