On January 24th I had the opportunity to see the movie Avatar. On the surface, like so many of these American blockbusters, the movie was about good and evil, peace and war, love and fear. Cutting through those threads you also see the secondary theme of stewardship versus greed, that human trait that leads us to destroy what is in our path when there are resources to be harvested, failing to consider the long term effects of our actions.
The movie is clear, humans have destroyed Mother Earth and now they are seeking the necessary resources elsewhere leaving, yet again, a path of destruction in their wake. I have to admit the message of the movie weighted me down. I had to sit with it overnight and re-consider the movie in the early morning hours.
When I did, and I allowed all the violence and destruction within the film to evaporate, I was able to remember the beauty of it, the magnificent creatures that inhabited this amazing planet, Pandora. This was my roadSIGN, the quiet themes that ran behind the scenes that had initially occupied my attention.
The indigenous peoples of Pandora, the Nabi, understood the interconnectedness of all life. They saw all life as sacred, whether that was a member of their own species, another animal, or plant form. Their greeting to one another was, “I see you”, a greeting stated without judgment and deigned to connect with the other person at the heart versus head level.
Did James Cameron intend for this to be the real message of the film. I can’t say. What I know for sure is that once I allowed for it, and reflected on the film rather than accepting it for face value, there was that deeper richer meaning. And it has affected me.
As I write this column it is raining, and although this is January, it all seems perfect. I once heard rain described as Mother Earth’s tears, and I am thinking that perhaps we need to cry, often, for that is what washes away the greed, and the fear, and the destruction and allows both the earth, and us, to heal.
I am not here to sell you on the movie – clearly that will be your choice if you have not already seen it. Whether you have or you haven’t, I simply want to ask you, are you choosing, everyday, to be a good steward or are you driven by fear, or greed or desire for more. Do you take the time to connect, with yourself, with your family and friends, with nature? Do you see yourself, not for all the things you think you should be, but for the beauty of who you really are? Do you understand that when you become a good steward of you, holding yourself in unconditional love and high regard, that this ripples into the world around you. Isn’t it time to shift our relationship with ourselves and others?
At a meeting the other day, I heard someone saying that tomorrow is the first day of the rest of your life. I found this interesting for, as we know tomorrow never comes. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Today is the day when change begins. Today is the perfect time to change your conversation with you and shift from the inner-critic’s saboteur to your heart voice which speaks of respect and gratitude for who you are. Today is the time to begin blessing others rather than judging them, for everyone is in your life for a reason. Today is the day to begin to speak for Mother Earth, for she is as much a part of us as our own parents and children. Today is the day to begin a new journey and to step onto the path that you choose for you.
If not now, when?
I see you!
Until next time… Betty