PURPOSE OF LIFE?

As I am enjoying some time off for the holidays, posting will go on short break until Monday. Until then, wanted to share a powerful message that really resonated with me.

As our annual Christmas movie watching tradition, we went to see the new Ben Stiller movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. It was a beautifully constructed and thought provoking piece. Although the critics seem to be giving it mixed reviews, we thoroughly enjoyed the creative film. Even more interesting than the stunning cinematography, was a quote that kept appearing throughout the film. Turns out the the central message of the movie was actually based on a poem commissioned for Life magazine. 

According to the article, Publisher Henry Luce wanted to create a magazine that didn’t just talk about the news. He wanted people to live it through stunning photographs. The prolific publisher wrote a prospectus for Life with poet Archibald MacLeish.

“To see life; to see the world; to eyewitness great events; to watch the faces of the poor and the gestures of the proud; to see strange things — machines, armies, multitudes, shadows in the jungle and on the moon; to see man’s work — his paintings, towers and discoveries; to see things thousands of miles away, things hidden behind walls and within rooms, things dangerous to come to; the women that men love and many children; to see and to take pleasure in seeing; to see and be amazed; to see and be instructed; Thus to see, and to be shown, is now the will and new expectancy of half of humankind. To see, and to show is the mission now undertaken by a new kind of publication… "

That message sets a pretty extraordinary mission for a magazine, for the movie, and maybe for our 2014 resolutions? Food for thought! See you next week!

Original photo by my brother Kris Pierscieniak 
See more inspirational quotes on my new Pinterest Board, Bold Quotes.