Continuing with the theme of gratitude….

I don’t know whether this counts as one of “life’s simple pleasures” or not.   It uses technology and it’s not free, but it is a pleasure, it’s comparatively inexpensive, and it’s a nice thing to do with one or more friends.

I’m talking about movies.  I am grateful for movies.  Like a good book, they can entertain, transport, inspire, educate, captivate, and provide a healthy dose of distraction from the “real world.”  They are the modern day version of sitting around a fire telling stories.

This weekend is one of the biggest opportunities  of the year for movie theaters to rake in the money.  Families and friends are reuniting, and going to the movies together provides a nice respite from all the being-together-in-one-house thing.  For a relatively small price, someone else will entertain your guests, provide refreshments, and clean up after they leave.

The best movies absorb your attention completely.  You completely forget you’re sitting in a chair in a darkened theater.  You forget you’re watching actresses and actors.  You forget everything except what you’re seeing on the screen.

What are some of your favorite movies?  Remember watching ET?  The Star Wars movies?  Raiders of the Lost Ark?  Gandhi?  Avatar?  Lord of the Rings?  What about tearjerkers like Sophie’s Choice, Pay It Forward, Schindler’s List,  The Titanic, Braveheart, The Blind Side?  What about movies that make you laugh?  The Pink Panther, Monty Python, Tootsie, Princess Bride, Some Like It Hot, Parenthood.  What about the animated ones?  Up, Finding Nemo, Cinderella, Toy Story.

I am grateful for scriptwriters and movie makers.  I’m grateful for great actors and actresses.  I’m grateful for movie theaters and I’m grateful for Netflix.  And for that matter, I’m grateful for authors, artists, songwriters, and musicians.  What would this world be without creativity?!  We need the Arts to lift us up, to move us, to inspire us.  Our creativity lifts us from the status of animal and inches us past human and toward the divine.

Celebrate the Arts today!  Go see a movie, read a book, visit a gallery, attend a concert.  Support your local artists.  Go see live music.  Patronize your local library or bookstore.  Paint a picture.  Sew a costume.  Play your guitar.  Get your creative juices flowing!  We are so blessed to be creative beings.

Thank you for it all!