Wit

I watched a movie a few days ago that I am still looking for the right words to describe it and its impact on me.

You know, that kind of movie that you put in your queue for Netflix and then promptly forget about until it shows up. Then you wonder why you picked it in the first place. I put off watching it for a week. Then it got to the point that I either watch it or send it back. So I started watching it to decide if I should watch it or send it back.

And it sucked me in. Days later I am still thinking about some of the scenes.

It’s called Wit. It was an HBO movie released in 2001. Part of the description reads: “Emma Thompson stars as Vivian Bearing, a disciplined, esteemed English professor dealing with a sensitive issue -- her health. After being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Bearing is forced to reassess her life and decide what's really important.”

The part that got me was the line where she decides what is really important in life.

It was full of contradictions. Not necessarily the fully fleshed out contradictions of life, but opposing themes laid side by side to contrast each other. Life and death. Those in helping professions who don’t care. Those who care despite their lack of scientific knowledge. The search for salvation. Being found by God. The puzzle of poetry and the simpleness of a children’s book. The elevation of knowledge over the human touch, and yet the simple power of kindness over sterile information.

Uncompromising in her discipline was how Vivian described herself in the movie. She says this with some regret as her doctor – who is very fascinated with research – also is uncompromising in his discipline of research. Uncompromising in this context means no grace, no kindness, no mercy. No human touch. No compassion.

I walked away from it moved and encouraged by its simple truths. There was a pureness to it. A honesty where you were surprised at what you found.

The scene that runs through my mind again and again is near the end. A former professor of hers comes to visit Vivian in the hospital. Vivian is in agony and is moaning with pain. You can see the anxiety and unrest. Her professor reads her a book she has purchased for her great-grandson called The Runaway Bunny. It’s a simple story that follows a baby bunny who threatens to run away from his mother. His mother promises her baby that she will always find him.

The professor adds a few sentences. “Look at that. A little allegory of the soul. Wherever it hides, God will find it.” And Vivian melts into a peaceful sleep.

It was tender and compassionate scene. It reminded me that God sometimes soothes our souls in the littlest ways, with His simple touches of kindness. A sunny day. A soft dog to cuddle with. A phone call from a friend. A hug from a spouse. God touches us, chases us, and finds us every day in ways that are meaningful to us. But sometimes - often! - they are so small and simple, if we are not watching and listening, we miss them.

It also reminded me that we are all humans before we are anything else. Before any profession that we follow, we are humans first. And interacting with each other on that level is the simplest, kindest thing we can do. Whatever our role to play in life is, it should not be lacking kindness and grace.

It was more than a movie to me. It was a fresh perspective. It was a reminder to me of what is really important in life as I interact with others. I can certainly be “uncompromising in my discipline”. Sometimes I have to work at having fun. I become so focused on my tasks that I do not see or care for those around me.Or take the time to enjoy them.

I guess you could say this was my reminder to stop and smell the roses. With the roses being people. And the smelling being extending kindness and grace.