Last weekend held a long anticipated event for me. Since I read Me Before You by JoJo Moyes in January 2015, I built up extraordinary expectations to see the pages of this beautiful story brought to life on the screen.
Me Before You is one of those books that shifted something inside of me, altered my thinking and has stuck in my heart and soul since I first closed the cover. It is not an entirely rare thing for a story to have such powerful impact in my life but this is one that I think on often. It is partially a realistic story of love but greater than that it is a glorious picture of empathy, alive and well.
When I finally saw the film it did not disappoint one bit. However, there is a lot of backlash currently as to how the film addresses the disabled amid the topic of euthanasia. I don't know what to say for that. I don't know much, but I abhor holding authors and filmmakers to a level that must appease everyone. Sometimes it feels like people can be too damn sensitive. Can a story just be a story and not a piece of propaganda or a entirely realistic representation of a people group as a whole? I don't believe an author approaches a story with the intention to deeply offend a sect of people, but this is a day and age where everyone seems to take offense to every little thing.
Ultimately, it feels like the beauty of a story is lost when we force finding ourselves in it in a manner that pleases us most. I have tried in the last few years to watch films, read books and befriend people that are a bit outside of my comfort zone, that is, I don't have to find everything in them agreeable. It seems like a pretty easy undertaking, but in reality it was a difficult venture at first. I couldn't find enjoyment in what I didn't agree with. Thankfully, I am beginning to shed this seemingly innocuous values system because I realized that I was becoming so close-minded about what I would allow myself to delve into and because of that I was missing so much. This doesn't mean that I blindly accept the values and beliefs put forth in what I read, watch, listen to or who I interact with. Instead now, I am hearing them, I am thinking about their side and I am feeling with and for them. This is how I grow in empathy. And this is what I gleaned from reading and then watching Me Before You.
I can't exactly pinpoint what it is that struck a chord so heavily in me when I read this story. If we had a conversation on the topic of euthanasia prior to this story, I would have said, "never." Never should someone no matter what state they are in devalue the sanctity and preciousness of human life and choose to end their days prematurely. And truth be told, the story hasn't changed my mind on that. However, it has changed my judgments on others for choosing to do so, or choosing to support another in doing so. I am so utterly thankful to writers and storytellers like Moyes who can tell such a difficult story as this one with compelling compassion and grace. In truth, what the reader more than likely is left to grapple with is that they cannot fault Will for the choice he made. Especially if God and a firmly rooted belief in the Creator is not the guidance behind his life and thereby his decisions. Instead what I admire in the end is Lou. Lou who selflessly loves Will and so very tenderly walks with him on his chosen journey. I admire Lou willing to sacrifice her own fervent desire to keep and have Will and instead love him through perhaps one of the most painful choices anyone can ever make. That in itself is a making for one of the most gripping love stories. It is a love that quickly removes the happily ever after and instead offers up a choice: How much can love overcome? What is real love? Perhaps, love looks differently in any given circumstance, and ultimately the act of love means to feel with the person rather than feel for that person. Empathy opens doors that we generally like to keep closed. Empathy takes us to unsafe and vulnerable places that often result in the greatest demonstrations of authentic and true love. So it seems that empathy, alive and well, rooted in love remains the only sound answer in all things.
If this is what a story can impart, I think it is magic. I am thankful to writers and creators, artists and storytellers that follow their call, embrace honesty and truth-telling, chasing down their gift to shaky and unsure places. What is birthed in that grey mess of morals and emotions often come the most impacting and life-changing of tales.
When I finally saw the film it did not disappoint one bit. However, there is a lot of backlash currently as to how the film addresses the disabled amid the topic of euthanasia. I don't know what to say for that. I don't know much, but I abhor holding authors and filmmakers to a level that must appease everyone. Sometimes it feels like people can be too damn sensitive. Can a story just be a story and not a piece of propaganda or a entirely realistic representation of a people group as a whole? I don't believe an author approaches a story with the intention to deeply offend a sect of people, but this is a day and age where everyone seems to take offense to every little thing.
Ultimately, it feels like the beauty of a story is lost when we force finding ourselves in it in a manner that pleases us most. I have tried in the last few years to watch films, read books and befriend people that are a bit outside of my comfort zone, that is, I don't have to find everything in them agreeable. It seems like a pretty easy undertaking, but in reality it was a difficult venture at first. I couldn't find enjoyment in what I didn't agree with. Thankfully, I am beginning to shed this seemingly innocuous values system because I realized that I was becoming so close-minded about what I would allow myself to delve into and because of that I was missing so much. This doesn't mean that I blindly accept the values and beliefs put forth in what I read, watch, listen to or who I interact with. Instead now, I am hearing them, I am thinking about their side and I am feeling with and for them. This is how I grow in empathy. And this is what I gleaned from reading and then watching Me Before You.
I can't exactly pinpoint what it is that struck a chord so heavily in me when I read this story. If we had a conversation on the topic of euthanasia prior to this story, I would have said, "never." Never should someone no matter what state they are in devalue the sanctity and preciousness of human life and choose to end their days prematurely. And truth be told, the story hasn't changed my mind on that. However, it has changed my judgments on others for choosing to do so, or choosing to support another in doing so. I am so utterly thankful to writers and storytellers like Moyes who can tell such a difficult story as this one with compelling compassion and grace. In truth, what the reader more than likely is left to grapple with is that they cannot fault Will for the choice he made. Especially if God and a firmly rooted belief in the Creator is not the guidance behind his life and thereby his decisions. Instead what I admire in the end is Lou. Lou who selflessly loves Will and so very tenderly walks with him on his chosen journey. I admire Lou willing to sacrifice her own fervent desire to keep and have Will and instead love him through perhaps one of the most painful choices anyone can ever make. That in itself is a making for one of the most gripping love stories. It is a love that quickly removes the happily ever after and instead offers up a choice: How much can love overcome? What is real love? Perhaps, love looks differently in any given circumstance, and ultimately the act of love means to feel with the person rather than feel for that person. Empathy opens doors that we generally like to keep closed. Empathy takes us to unsafe and vulnerable places that often result in the greatest demonstrations of authentic and true love. So it seems that empathy, alive and well, rooted in love remains the only sound answer in all things.
If this is what a story can impart, I think it is magic. I am thankful to writers and creators, artists and storytellers that follow their call, embrace honesty and truth-telling, chasing down their gift to shaky and unsure places. What is birthed in that grey mess of morals and emotions often come the most impacting and life-changing of tales.
No comments:
Post a Comment