Practice Compassion

I've watched one of the best movies I have ever seen and I'm not even towards the end of it yet.
The movie is called Red Beard. Another Akira Kurosawa movie.

It is honestly hard to pick his best. His best shows why he is a cinematic master, his worst is far better than most of today's Hollywood dreck. His most recognized masterpiece is Seven Samurai but I believe that is only because more of those people are unfamiliar with any of his other masterpieces.

Ikiru which is one of the most amazing movies you will ever see (and I'd love it if anyone asked to view it with me) is about learning to live. Please revisit my post on Ikiru if you wish to learn more.

Red Beard is about learning compassion for your fellow man. The story is simple, an arrogant young doctor in 19th century Japan is sent to a clinic for the poor. It is run by Red Beard, Dr. Kyojio Niide played by Kurosawa's favorite actor Toshiro Mifune. A stern and brilliant doctor who sees beyond the illness and into the patients spirit and heart.

This was also Mifune's last movie with Kurosawa. They had a falling out after Red Beard. The Hallmark of Red Beard is many long takes. One take tops the clock at five and a half minutes. While now a long take is almost unheard of for today's viewing audience. Hollywood just doesn't feel that most people have the patience to invest emotion and caring into the characters and tend to tune out if there isn't a quickly edited pace.

You have to work to watch Red Beard, especially if you can't sit still. The rewards though are extremely high. If I could create a film a tiny fraction of this quality I'd be thrilled.

To practice compassion, what does that mean? I heard once that the most compassionate thing you could ever do for a person was to wipe their tears.

There is nothing more intimate or touching than to show someone you understand their pain, you want to ease their suffering and wiping their tears away is a physical demonstration of that.

Step out of your own self, look around you from a different point of view and look to see where you can practice that kind of compassion. Even if it is as simple as holding a door open for someone, it can have meaning to that person. Look around you.

I got a hug today after work and I can tell you it nearly reduced me to a weepy mess because of the compassion that came through that simple yet powerful act.