Surprised
By Joy
Many of us are creatures of habit.
That is, we will go to the same restaurants, watch the
same shows on T.V., shop in the same stores, visit the
same chat rooms, pursue our usual recreations, talk about
the same type of things with our friends and do pretty
much everything else in the same predictable way. To a
degree there is nothing wrong with this. There is
something healthy about the predictable and usual.
However, we can have too much of a good thing and find
ourselves in ruts, bored, and even burdened by an
activity that was once a pleasure but has become a
compulsion. This pattern becomes a problem when we avoid
the chance of discovering the joy of experiencing
something new.
"Surprised By Joy" is the title of C. S.
Lewis’s autobiography. In recounting his childhood
and early life, he points out that real joy occurs when
we are not expecting it. If we look for it, joy can evade
us. If we go back to something that gave us joy before,
it may once again reward us but the experience will not
be quite the same as it was the first time. It is the
surprise of the unexpected or unanticipated pleasure that
makes it so joyful.
Here are movies that reveal these realities about joy.
Some show the impact of the unexpected. Others the
disappointment of over control.The Films
© Miramax. All Rights
Reserved.
THE ENGLISHMAN WHO WENT UP A HILL BUT CAME DOWN A
MOUNTAIN It
has been said that when people put their minds to
something, they can move mountains. Here we see the
people of a small Welsh town literally attempt to build a
hill into a mountain. (The story, by the way, is based on
a true incident.) To an outsider this may seem like a
very strange thing to do, but as you begin to know and
understand these people, the effort is not seen at all as
a strange endeavor. Oh, the people may seem a little
peculiar, but might not outsiders looking at your own
community see it as a little eccentric? (Maybe I say that
because I have lived my whole life in Los Angeles
County.) As we follow an Englishman who came to survey
the elevated terrain overlooking the town of these Welsh
folks, we see his initial bewilderment at the passion
they have for their "mountain" and we watch as
he realizes what they are doing to keep their mountain
and keep their uniqueness. In discovering their effort
and motivation, the Englishman also discovers something
very important for himself.
Buena Vista Home Video.
Rated PG by M.P.A.A.
© Miramax. All Rights
Reserved.
HEAR MY SONG Much of the time we only know common
substitutes for genuine articles: We listen to a C.D.
instead of attending a live concert; watch a classic film
on T.V. instead of seeing it on the big screen; know a
work of art from a photograph in a book rather than from
viewing the work in a gallery. There is something that
the copy or imitation does not have. In this film the
owner of an Irish nightclub attempts to pass off an
impostor for a famous but "retired" singer with
disastrous results. To redeem himself the owner attempts
to locate the actual singer and convince him to perform
in his nightclub. In doing so he not only does something
that helps him to regain his standing, he discovers
something about the meaning of this legend that he had no
idea existed.
Buena Vista Home Video.
Rated R by MPAA.
CINEMA PARADISO
Some of the things in life which are the most special are
things from our past, things which we have all but
forgotten. As adults we often lose sight of good past
experiences and circumstances that have in part formed
who we are today. Here is the story of a middle aged man
who long ago moved away from the small town in which he
grew up and eventually became very successful. When he
learns of the death of an old man in the town, he
remembers what this man did for him when he was a child.
He returns to the village for the funeral, his first
visit since his youth, and is given a gift that he forgot
had been given to him once before when he was a child.
Home Box Office Home
Video.
Rated PG by MPAA.
Please
note: More movies are being added to this page.
Check back soon.
| The
booklet 1001
Things To Do For Leasure And Recreation (That are
free or cost very little to do!) is a resource of
activities from the most basic to the more
inventive. It is an ideal source of ides
for those who need to find a break from their
ruts. For only $2.50 plus shipping and
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