Peace, Love, Joy And UTube

This link will take you to a video which became a cause celeb re over the weekend on Utube. I first saw this on Friday and just fell in love with it. Shot in Antwerp's Central Station, it's actually part of a reality TV show, but it's really wonderful none the less. I suppose it doesn't hurt that the music is from the Sound of Music and features Julie Andrews at her best.

In the short article accompanying the video, a Salon writer states:

"The dancers are presenting the purest form of art imaginable: art simply and truly for the sake of art...They managed to punch right through my cynicism and show me that good things are still out there and there are good people in the world...In a small way, I have a deeper understanding of what it is to be human because of the actions of 200 fellow humans in a train station in Belgium."

I have to admit, I watched it again on Saturday after I posted about my own cynicism regarding the Hierarchy. When I watched this the second time it really struck me again, just exactly who are the People of God. Hope you enjoy this as much as I did. (Well, me and a million others and counting.)

And then yesterday, I came across another really clever video. This piece, part of a video contest sponsored by AARP, was particularly relevant to me because I have been doing quite a bit of thinking about the younger generations, comparing my youthful idealistic self with my current version. The current version, occasional bouts of cynicism aside, seems to be returning to the hope and idealism of my youthful self, but with the addition of much more wisdom, and a lot less naivete. Here is the reflection itself, in case you have audio problems with the video. It more than stands alone.

Lost Generation by Jonathan Reed

I am part of a lost generation

and I refuse to believe that

I can change the world

I realize this may be a shock

but“Happiness comes from within".

is a lie, and

“Money will make me happy.”

So in 30 years I will tell my children

they are not the most important thing in my life

My employer will know that

I have my priorities straight because

work

is more important than

family

I tell you this

Once upon a time

Families stayed together

but this will not be true in my era

This is a quick fix society

Experts tell me

30 years from now, I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my

divorce

I do not concede that

I will live in a country of my own making

In the future

Environmental destruction will be the norm

No longer can it be said that

My peers and I care about this earth

It will be evident that

My generation is apathetic and lethargic

It is foolish to presume that

There is hope.
And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it .

Now, reverse this and read it from the bottom up.

Just like Julie Andrews reverses the scale in do re mi, we too can reverse---- no, we can transform our selves, and become more joyful, hopeful, caring, loving, and unified than we have ever been. Jesus wasn't just resuscitated, He was transformed into something more, and that, to me, is the message of Easter. It's not about returning to who you were, or to some former and more innocent state, it's about transforming into something more.

I hope all who read this had a joyful and meaningful Easter.