I just saw a profoundly moving documentary on OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) called “Serving Life.”
It is a profile of prisoners at one of the toughest state penitentiaries who find a new reason to live (and love) – as hospice workers – helping their brother inmates die with dignity. It’s an powerful story of compassion, healing, and redemption the likes of which I have never seen on the TV screen before. It’s narrated and produced by Forest Whitaker.
What surprised and moved me the most was that beneath all that gritty exterior is a profound Mother Teresa-like softness. Watching hard-core criminals being ever so gentle with each other, and finding the joy in caring (connecting, quilting, washing, tending, holding vigil) simply blew me away.
And opened my heart.
The film is such a great metaphor for life: How we imprison ourselves with negative beliefs and fears; how we neglect and put our selves down; how it takes being in relationship with others to truly rise above, evolve, and ultimately heal. There is a beauty of poem to inspire us to move beyond our prison walls. I’ll share it in my next post.
Here’s the trailer to Whitaker’s movie. Let me know what you think.
yes, in astrology we all have our “prison” house, the 12th house, represents the place in which we may actively disown parts of ourselves, the place where we find out we need to serve or suffer…it is also the place of dreams and compassion and many other things…I’ve written it down so I know to look for it in the future. Thanks Steph!
Thank you, Martha.