Apparently there is a new documentary coming out called a Life in a Day. The premise was that everyone around the world, record that happened to them on July 24, 2010. These videos were submitted and then compiled to make this movie. At first glance it looks like the same type of video where people offer 3 words to summarize their life. What prompted the notation was that the director, during the interview, said something to the effect that we have been taught since childhood, that we are all different. Our cultures and lifestyles make us different. But what he learned from this project, is that underneath all the surface differences was that we are all the same. We find joy in the same events and fear the same things. That this project made him feel like we were all of one mind with a million different voices. This is, of course, not a new idea to those of us who have read Richard Bach's One which proposes that we are all part of a single one and that the differences resulted each time a choice was offered. But, if you track back far enough, then we are all part of one mind. I always really liked that theory - it always made me seem closer to God somehow, as I always assume that he was the original one. Such thoughts always jumped right into Mark Twain and the Mysterious Stranger and the thought that we are sort of a mental experiment of God. And why these sort of ideas make more sense to me than anything in the Bible, I can't really explain, I just know that it is true - perhaps because it's more philosophically based rather than faith based. Who knows, and not really the point.
So, if someone had to take a glimpse into my life during any random day, what would I want him to see? On a summer day, he's gonna see everyone in their space doing their thing. We are all at home, but essentially separate - except for Isaiah who is the glue who connects us all. Elijah would be playing a game, i'd be reading or watching a movie, Franklin would be skulking somewhere sloop-shouldered and murky. The part I would want to see, would be the parts when Isaiah tells me he loves me, or when he creates his pokemon or dinosaur exhibits. But those times are not nearly as often as they should be. There's much of the day that is wasted and idled away. However, to be honest, I think that if I lived a life in which every moment was important and counted, it would have to be a short life, because i would have to kill myself. It would be too much for too long and I couldn't handle it. And I don't think i'd appreciate it. It would be like people who live next to the ocean, or in the mountains who don't see the view anymore. I think I'd most like to record the laughing moments - but not the ones where we're teasing just the ones in which we are joyous, and tickled for no reason where a little giggle turns into pee on yourself laughing. Or maybe the tender moments when we are quiet together and happy to be there (these happen less than I'd like...it is in its very nature a justification for letting your kids sleep with you). Those are the moments of my life I'd like to record for others to see and share, those are the moments of my life that are most important.
