b.Inspired Cafe & Blog

Who is the enemy?

I sobbed for my country tonight. For the soul of America. For our children’s children.

God bless Robert Redford. His new film, Lions for Lambs has my heart beating faster. Infiltrating the cushy comfort of my good life movie theatre, these 92 minutes on screen are saying, Wake Up. When will we wake up, America?

Unless you’ve been hiding in caves, this drama won’t reveal any big stories or new angles on the war, the media and American life that you don’t already know. However, it stirred things up for me. I wept with Meryl Streep’s veteran journalist, as she wrestles with her integrity and deeply embedded heartache, rising up like indigestion. I was taken in by Tom Cruise’s charming senator, and then wasn’t sure if I was proud of being intelligently open-minded or wanted to take a shower. I sighed from inside, without showing it, along with Redford’s professor -- who hopes he sees real hope in the eyes of a not fully formed student.  Essentially, this movie is about one word—Engagement.

I try to find the powerful question for each film experience I post here at the café. After Lions for Lambs, the provocative inquiry becomes:
    Who is the enemy? Evil? Terrorism? Or, to borrow words from Redford’s character “apathy”
    and “willful ignorance” ?

This illumination in the darkened Cineplex made me very uncomfortable with my comfort. And I am very grateful to the filmmakers for this gift. Now, it’s my duty to actually stay awake and walk the talk of being an inspired, conscious citizen.  Go see this movie. Then ask, Who is the real enemy? What is the enemy of my soul? What do I need to do now to honor and protect my sacred core- that inner higher Truth… and live up to what I’m here for? What is mine to do, to fall asleep with peace in this nation I love? The security of our homeland’s legacy is in my hands and in your hands.

When we remember that each of us is responsible for choosing Soul vs. Ego day by day, it sheds light on what it means to be the land of the brave and the home of the free. I pray that I will not be seduced by the snooze button in the days ahead.

Watch movie trailer

http://www.lionsforlambsmovie.com/site.html

Official movie site http://www.lionsforlambsmovie.com/

My Date with George Clooney

I just saw the new film, Michael Clayton. It’s a brilliant piece of art – compelling to the eye and ear from the first moment. You can simply enjoy it as a thriller. A richer experience is found in watching the lead character's true soul emerge, like a seedling breaking through murky mud to find some clean air and sun. This movie reminded me why art and artist’s souls are so important in our culture. Storytelling is supposed to get our attention, make us think twice about our values and choices and how we really feel about ourselves, about how we relate to each other, about the world we live in. This compelling drama manages to do all that without hitting us over the head with syrup-coated morality. Like Bruce Springsteen said in his 60 Minutes interview, the song writer gives voice to what needs to be sung out-- especially when it’s dark, "and it’s pretty dark lately." We need wake up calls and ways to find the light of truth within our hearts.

Clooney’s performance is Oscar-worthy. Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton also deserve some gold. Scenes of getting ready for corporate performance in hotel rooms gave me chills. The characters are multi-dimensional and nuanced, not Hollywood cutout dolls. You’ll want to go have a drink with both George and his character, Michael at the end. [View movie scenes here]

Chapter One of my book starts, I want to ask you something and tell you something.
The question is: What are you living for? If an observer watching your daily behavior were asked this question, what would he or she surmise?

Go see Michael Clayton for your date with George. Then ask yourself deeply, while sipping your vodka, that question: What am I living for?

Oscar Movies to Inspire Your Real Life

 

Dear Friends,

With Oscar season in the air, we’re looking to the silver screen for catalysts about how to create an inspired life in the real world.  As you’ll see below, it can be fun and stimulating to reflect on “coaching questions” prompted by key scenes or themes from each film. And, hey, I always love an excuse to sneak off to a theatre in the early evening! Send a quick email with your thoughts. Thanks much.

All the best,

Marian

*****************************************************************************************************************

Lights, Camera, Inspiration!

My heart rate rising while Jennifer Hudson belts out “I’m not going,” (DreamGirls), Kevin Costner breaking the door down with, “I’m tired of being your bitch” (The Upside of Anger), Zuzu’s petals, Brad Pitt’s bottom lip. These are some of the reasons I LOVE movies. In anticipation of the Academy Awards on Feb 25, I feel giddy. (Check out a fun video at Oscar.com). Relevant to waking up inspired, movies can be a powerful way to stimulate insights about who you are and the life you really want to create. Let’s face it; it’s dangerous to use the fantasy world of the cinema as a measuring stick against real life, especially if you are expecting tidy resolutions in happy endings and epic- crawling through the desert to kiss her once more- movie romance. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have quippy lines from brilliant writers, soul-stirring musical scores, makeup artists and soft lighting bathing me while talking to my husband in the kitchen. Nonetheless, we can use movies to prompt contemplation about our own true choices.

Here are some movie moments that have inspired me, for You to consider as fuel for your fulfilling, prosperous life. There are “coaching questions” to digest after watching each film.

Claiming Your Power

On a recent coaching call I asked a client to watch Akeelah and the Bee as part of her homework. If you’d like a boost about more fully stepping into your own power (like the Marianne Williamson quote, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…”) enjoy watching this eleven year old claim her gift and be a quiet leader in the power of what it really means to love thy neighbor and love your enemies.

Imagine a world with more people behaving like Akeelah. In what ways would You like to model her or what seems to drive her choices?

Gratitude & Go For It

Coming back to icy cold Chicago and what appeared as a monstrous to-do list after the holidays and 10 days of playing in  Santa Barbara, I was feeling whiney. High class whining—like wishing we could afford Santa Barbara real estate or grunting about aspects of my work that I don’t relish. Then I saw The Pursuit of Happyness with Will Smith, inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner. I wept in the ladies room afterward—deeply grateful for every inch of my home, every rice cracker in the drawer, and every opportunity for work I might have the privilege of enjoying. Watching Will Smith and his son together is heart-swelling, too.  

A key line: “Don’t ever let somebody tell you that you can’t do something. You got a dream, you got to protect it. If you want something, go get it. Period.” When have you been shot down or held back? How does that old story possibly linger in your choices today? What’s the real truth or new story you want to believe? What’s worth your best “go get it” energy now?

True Leadership

My heart stopped for a brief moment in the film, Chocolat (2000). O.K. it also stopped the first time Johnny Depp appeared looking oh so come hither, but that’s not the scene I’m focusing on here. Juliette Binoche sets up a chocolate shop in a small village dominated by a strict moral code and a repressed, condemning and conniving mayor. On the surface, he is the town’s upstanding leader and she represents a naughty distraction. In the scene where she discovers him in an utterly humiliating and compromised position, she demonstrates who she really is. She would have every right to judge, laugh, and broadcast his personal disgrace to the whole town, as payback for all of his backstabbing and plotting to banish her. With dignity and genuinely respectful compassion, she simply says, “I will not tell a soul.” In this moment she is the embodiment of true leadership in the community. In many other ways, she is the servant leader to the people of this town, helping them to awaken to their own true natures, heal old wounds and discover new possibilities. 

Why would I say that Juliette Binoche’s character in Chocolat is one of my favorite examples of servant leadership? Where do you agree or disagree? What are you suppressing or not letting yourself have (what the chocolate often represents in this film) these days? What could make room for sweeter, richer aliveness in your life?

If you haven’t seen them yet…Two of the best movies from this year:

• Babel (brutal, gripping, brilliant filmmaking.) I’ll ask you the same question I asked my nephew walking home from this one. What do you think that was about?...not the plot, but what message was the director trying stir up? I hope you too will be inspired by this invitation for our souls to remember who we are and what we need in our world today.

• Little Miss Sunshine (Charming, funny, moving. Amazing ensemble cast that refreshingly breaks Hollywood norms of likeable good guys and disturbing bad guys. ) Enjoy this ride!

   Are you ready to grab some popcorn and relax into your favorite spot?

Be well… be inspired,

Marian