god grew tired of us

last night i went to the premiere of god grew tired of us, a memoir produced by national geographic about the lost boys of sudan. i cannot begin to put into words how moving and beautiful this film is. it's the sort of movie you really do not want to see in a crowded auditorium with your colleagues. you don't want to talk to anyone afterwards. and you certainly do not want to eat a pettifore cake and drink a gin and tonic at their party. i had to go home.

after these boys were exiled from their country of sudan, they were moved to a u.n. refugee camp called kakuma in northern kenya. even through the roughest of conditions their spirits are so bright and fragile. these thousands of boys created a family. when some of them are chosen to start a "new life" in the united states, their fragile spirits are more than tested with our bagged and boxed foods, cold strangers, and confusing bus lines. the coldness was the part that hurt the most. americans not allowing these boys in their stores because they didn't understand them and they certainly were not going to try. although this movie touched on the huge/scary/universal issue of violence it touched on something even bigger than that - humanity. these boys are part of us and they were so surprised that people would not smile at them, would not talk to them, would not let them into their homes. these boys came from an area that most americans would deem as third-world, but they ached for their former lives and family and connections because we live by the motto "time is money." they literally quoted this several times in the movie as they worked three jobs to send money to family and friends exiled from sudan.

now i know that there have been so many books, articles, speeches written and given about this very subject. we're overworked, overfed, oversexed - all of the above and all things i agree with but strive to break personally. and that's not my point. just smile at somebody today, or give that guy money for a coffee (or better yet buy him one). someone has smiled at you when you needed it. return it. send it out.

"yesterday, i saw so much unhappiness in people's eyes, all of us rushing somewhere. construction noise and dust filled the air; we could have been hurrying down some boulevard in hell. and i was reminded that this is hell unless i extend compassion to those around me. if my heart isn't open, i'm just another tourist here, collecting memories, looking for the perfect souvenir."
- sy safransky of the sun