By Carolyne Weldon
NFB Blog (1/20/17)
Regardless of what is happening out there in the world, it sometimes helps to remember that we always retain control of one thing: our minds.
Whatever change might be hurtling our way, whatever uncertainties we may be forced to face, there remains this thing no one can take away from us or taint in any way: the tone and content of our inner thoughts.
Instead of asking, how bad will this get? How will I be hurt by this? We can practice asking: what would I want this to look like? What small step can I take today to bring me, my family and my community closer to this vision? Be that change, as they say. Envision it. Because negativity breeds negativity. Hate breeds hate. Whatever we focus on will increase. So let us fill our minds to the brim with the picture we want to see in the world.
A small step in this direction is our film Mother Earth, a 10-minute short by Oscar-winning filmmaker Terre Nash (If You Love this Planet). Made from haunting visuals selected from half a century of NFB productions, and featuring a score by Loreena McKennitt, Mother Earth is an awe-inspiring celebration of life on planet Earth.
Because as all signs are indicating, it is high time humans start telling a different story.
Perhaps this isn’t so much a new story, as a very old story we forgot. The story of our cycles and interconnectedness. The story of the deep sameness we share beneath the superficial cloak of our differences. Stories that inspire us to dream a better dream together.