Premise:
Living in a lockdown comes with its own fringe benefits. You end up watching a lot more movies or reading a lot more books that you would have otherwise watched or read.
One such movie that I watched recently with my family is was “Same kind of different as me” starring one of my favorite actress Renee Zellweger, Greg Kinnear and Djimon Hounsou in a pivotal role.
The movie is based on a memoir of the same title, written by Ron Hall and Denver Moore (the real life friends). Watching the movie was a moving experience, at least for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie – both for its entertainment value and for the values that it espouses.
Here are some of the lessons I take away from having watched the movie:
Life Lessons Learnt:
Same kind of Different:
In my opinion, one of the most impactful scenes in the movie, that also happens to kind of sum up the entire message of the movie is the one of Debbie’s funeral scene and Denver say a few words.
You can watch the scene here.
One of the best quotes from the movie is
Everybody is different; Same kind of different as me. We are all homeless, working our way home!!!
We are all different in our own ways and the same in the same way. We are all searching for our very own paths that can lead us to happiness, joy, peace or whatever it is that we are searching for.
Kindness:
1. A little kindness, love and trust can be transformational for those who receive it from us (like it was for Denver, when he received the kindness, love and trust from Ron and Debbie) but also for us who can show the kindness (just like it did for both Ron and Debbie).
2. There is goodness in each and every one of us however unlikely it might seem. Just like there was goodness in Denver beneath all that bravado, anger and frustration. Someone (Ron and Debbie) had to dig deeper and show a lot of kindness and love to bring out the goodness in him.
3. One act of compassion has the potential to transform a community just like the kind act of Ron and Debbie transformed and continues to transform the communities that come into contact with their story.
What you see is not what you get:
1. In most cases, and with people, what you see is not what you get. There is a whole lot more to people than what you see in them. We should not be too quick to judge people based on their appearance. If we dig a bit deeper, we will always find some goodness in them. So, let’s not judge people too quickly.
2. Every one of us have done some bad things in our past that we might not be proud of. So, it is better not to judge others about what they have done. And not to judge ourselves for our acts in the past.
3. When we go beyond the actions and try to dig into the feelings and explore them, we can truly change behavior. This is as much true for us and as it is for others.
4. We need to see people. Truly see them. See them for what and who they are. See them for their potential. See them for their infinite wisdom. See them for their goodness.
Forgiveness:
1. Forgiveness is one of the most important virtue that can deliver us from ourselves.
2. Another one of the quotes from the movie that I think was really powerful. So, can each one of us.
God is in the recycling business. He can turn trash into treasure.
Goodness:
1. There is always something good that comes out of everything that ever happens. We just need to be open and accepting enough to see it. Getting to know about the affair that Ron had and forgiving him actually led them on the path to having a rich and fulfilling relationship.
2. Every soul is wise beyond measure. In some cases, we need to clean up our lenses to see the wisdom and in others dig a bit deeper to see the beauty and experience the wisdom.
Reflection:
1. Remembering people who have helped us or have had a significant impact on us, after they are long gone, can be a cathartic experience and allow us to continue to stay connected and feel their presence around us.
In conclusion:
In conclusion, we live in a world where there are many organisations that make their living promoting all that is bad in this world. While this gets our attention due to the way we are hard-wired, it is important for each one of us to learn not to get sucked into this negativity.
One way to do this is to continue to look for the good that is also happening in the world at any given time. You can look at the twitter #CovidKindness to see and share the goodness around us. You can find reasons to be cheerful in the world at this blog.
I know there are a lot of such resources which can benefit from our attention and we can benefit from giving them our attention.
So, let us bring out our kindness in us and in all those who surround us and shine.
PS: Here is a TEDx Talk delivered by Ron Hall
