On the evening of July 18th, SFYAD held an online movie appreciation activity. A total of 11 people participated and watched Pixar's 2020 animated film "Soul" together. After the film, the attendees discussed the relationship between "the spark of life and the purpose of life" and "how to let go and find happiness in the face of obsession" in this modern life.
President of BLIA-YAD San Francisco Selene Chew shared that sparks make life interesting for her. Everyone has the ability to enjoy life in the present; don't always think that the present is not enough. Selene shared that she was constantly thinking about work deadlines when she went traveling and couldn’t let go and enjoy the moment. However, sometimes when learning to let go and enjoy the moment, she found that the many causes and conditions that make up every moment reminded her of how wonderful life is at that moment. This will not happen all the time because she is not mindful enough to live in the moment and always thinks about meeting deadlines for work. However, for a moment, the spark she experienced was beautiful. Kee shared his understanding of the spark of life and the purpose of life. He shared that a spark is a motivation. He shared his story where he participated in a sports competition. Due to his knee injury, he could not participate in the most challenging category, and he had to participate in a less challenging category. Though disappointed at first, he was happy at the end when he was encouraged to complete the race. Another young adult shared how to use Dharma wisdom to learn to let go when encountering difficulties or crises: 1) the present moment is empty in nature, 2) the three minds cannot be obtained, and 3) the five aggregates are emptiness. Then, one can find a new starting point, beginning, and opportunity in a crisis.
The film is about Joe Gardner, a middle school music teacher who loves jazz. He unremittingly chased his dreams and finally coveted an opportunity to perform on stage. But because of an accident, his body nearly died, but his soul strayed into a fantasy world outside of human experience-”pre-existence.” It turns out that the “Great Before” is a unique space where all souls exist before being born. The self-consciousness of human beings is tasked to find their own “spark” before being able to go to Earth.” It was also here that Joe, determined to return to Earth, met a lonely, precocious, and pessimistic soul “22”, who wandered for a long time because he was unable to find his own “spark.” In a turn of events, their fates are intertwined where they returned to Earth, experienced a treacherous and wonderful life journey together, and began to reconstruct the value and meaning of their existence.
This online movie brought a lot of inspiration and in-depth reflection about life to the SFYAD members. Everyone has their own life purpose and spark. Through the enthusiastic discussion and sharing of everyone, this event ended with joy.
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