I just finished watching the documentary I Am and, if you haven’t already seen it, it’s awesome, and I thought you might want to watch it over the weekend, too (it’s on OnDemand, iTunes etc.) I hope it leaves you with as many thoughts, feelings and ideas swirling around in your heart as are in mine right now.
The film asks what is wrong with the world and through several interviews with thought leaders like Desmond Tutu, Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, the conclusion is that community, compassion and the interconnectedness of us all is the answer.
There are many arguments through the film of how humans are hardwired for compassion, community, taking care of each other and cooperating. We are not born for greed or war or killing each other off. It’s not in our DNA to live out “survival of the fittest”, we are geared toward serving and connecting with others. There are so many examples of how true that is here on The Motherhood and across the web, aren’t there?
You know that feeling you get when you connect emotionally with someone else’s suffering or joy, and how you feel it yourself? It’s actually something specific in us called a mirrored neuron — we were made to feel what someone else is feeling.
There are many other science factoids like that in the movie, and they will get you thinking, too. Just wait until you come to the part about how intuitive our hearts are.
There are many memorable words in the film, but Howard Zinn said something that I can’t shake, “Change comes from millions of tiny acts that seem insignificant.” Especially as a mom, it hit me, every act makes a difference, and every positive action, no matter how small, adds up. Think about it in terms of your children, your community, issues, challenges and huge, epic world problems. Everything we do that is positive moves us closer to something better, no matter how big or small.
Watch and let me know what you think! Here’s the trailer:
http://youtu.be/PeqB8JwpdE4
