In Haste: The Descendants

Some friends of mine saw this flick before I had a chance to. Their summation of the film, 

"It was depressing."

Having the opportunity to see the film today, I found it fantastic.

Films of this nature, that turn on the screws of human reaction to unforeseen, yet realistic, situations, produce within them much value.

There's a moment for me that stands out above the rest. The character played by George Clooney is alone with the wife of the man who had an affair with his dying spouse. The scene is tense. But in that frail moment, what the character deems paramount to convey is that, "He never really loved her." He says this as a means of comfort.

Who says that?

This week I have been impressed with the notion of the differences of what people think is most important in life.

Case in point: Buddhism. Earlier this week I sat down and intook a documentary entitled The Buddha. It was informative... and left me depressed.

When it comes down to it, Buddhism as a philosophy, I have no qualms with. But as a religion, it saddens my heart. It seems to me entirely self-centered and not about truth at all. It doesn't begin to answer the questions that I think are most important to human kind as a race. It is only concerned with how to be happy.

Fuck happiness. That's not what this life is about. There are a litany of ways one could work to attain happiness. I want truth. I want to know my Maker. I want the Story.

Tomorrow my fiancee comes to visit Slovenia for one week. Right now, apart from her, I can barely function. Watching The Descendants forced me to think about that moment when either she will or I will die. Most likely, we will not be able to venture off this earthly soil in tandem. We will die alone, one before the other. What will that be like? I can't fathom it... and yet, for one of us, this will be a reality (unless the good Lord chooses to take us away first!)

But the point is...

Well, frankly, I've forgotten the point. MY FIANCEE IS HERE TOMORROW!

I love her and that is the beginning of everything.

Also, The Descendants is a good movie. I award it a score of .5 Bonhoeffers!