The other day I watched the film Children of Men again. First time in years. Maybe even my second only viewing since I saw it at the cinema in… [checks IMDB] … 2006!
😵
It’s a phenomenal movie, and if you haven’t seen it, seek it out.
Anyway, there was a line in there that at the time I remember being a bit offended by, and this time it just made me laugh.
If you don’t know the story, without ruining it for you, it’s set in a dystopian 2027 that’s all too believable. For one reason or another, the world’s basically gone to hell in a handcart, in a big way, and the human species is in its end stages.
And in one scene, the protagonist, Theo (Clive Owen, in his best role ever) is visiting a well-off relative who lives in an ivory tower, insulated from all the horrors around him. He’s got a high-paying ministerial job and is swanning around in his luxury flat, eating fine food, admiring his art collection and getting on with what remains of his life, seemingly unconcerned about humanity’s imminent demise.
As they’re about to part, Theo (who uses alcohol to dull his existential pain) laughs at his cousin, incredulous at how laid back he seems about it all, saying:
“You kill me. A hundred years from now, there won't be one sad f*** to look at any of this. What keeps you going?!”
And his cousin replies, as if it’s the most common sense thing ever, and he’s frankly baffled as to why Theo hasn’t cottoned on to the obvious solution:
😂🤣
Now we can argue the rights and wrongs of his behaviour, morals and attitude, (your ‘spiritual bypass’ alarm might be going off right now) but at the level of principle, it’s hard to argue with his logic!
We all live in seemingly separate, thought-created realities and we’re all always doing what makes sense to us. Including those we disagree with.
Our pal Richard Carlson, in a very short chapter of his book entitled ‘Understand Separate Realities’ implores us to be more mindful of this, saying:
“When we expect to see things differently; when we take it as a given that others will do things differently and react differently to the same stimuli, the compassion we have for ourselves and for others rises dramatically.”
It’s one of those delicious paradoxes that our absolute uniqueness—nobody can ever see something the same way as you, because they can’t experience your thought-created reality!—is what unites us all.
💖
Giles
Want to start every day with helpful, insightful content like this? The Daily Reminder is a quick, lighthearted email that arrives in your inbox every morning, to help keep you grounded in reality, so that you get to ‘Think less, and live more.’
“They feel like a moment of stillness in a world of madness.” ~ Neil, UK
“One of those small things with big impact. Honestly, just sign up!” ~ Paula, UK
Related
Giles P Croft
Dig into the notion of separate realities a little deeper.