I was recently watching a movie from a few years back called "Limitless," starring Bradley Cooper. The basic premise is that an aspiring writer, Cooper, takes a wonder drug which activates . . .
OK, let me back up a little. Cooper, the aspiring writer, is also a Hemingway-esque alcoholic whose living quarters would embarrass a caveman, and whose moral compass points towards Babylon. Just sayin' --; understand that I use the word "writer" a bit liberally. Like with myself.
Anyway, Cooper takes a wonder drug which activates the 90 percent of the human brain that nobody uses, and it sets off a flurry of accomplishment and activity which vault him into, well, the realm of humanity.
Now, I think a lot of people see this movie, and think to themselves something along the lines of "Oh, if only I could activate my brain like that." But, actually, the things that really set him apart were not particularly things that require a drug.
For instance, almost immediately, after he takes the drug the first time, he bumps into his landlord, a woman, and seduces her (yeah, I know--;apparently the drug has little effect on the moral compass thing). But, not by being particularly better looking or wittier; it happens after he notices a book that she is carrying that only a law student would carry, which he turns into a conversation about law.
That's not magic --; that's just good humanity. How many of us go through life barely noticing the most obvious details about the people around us, much less the minutiae that make interesting conversation?
Heck, I'm pretty sure I could walk through the halls of any local high school in clown's makeup with a sign that says "I'll give you $1 if you notice me," and so few kids would extract their eyes from their cell phones that I could walk out with most of my lunch money.
And, how much better would everybody's lives be --; and, believe me, NOBODY is more guilty of this than me --; if we just made a point of finding one interesting thing about everybody we run in to, and ask them about it. They would feel important, and we might actually learn things.
The second thing the Cooper character does after taking the drug is clean his apartment. Now, I will admit to using cleaning as a stall tactic (as in, "Oh, I just can't write a word of this column until I straighten up this desk"), but that's not what was happening here: This was a person recognizing that raising the humanity level of his existence was important before he could get his real work done.
Again, not magic. In fact, to some degree, very ancient wisdom.
I'm no Talmudic scholar, but it is my understanding that the day before devout Jews observe Yom Kippur (the "Day of Atonement") and ask forgiveness from God, they observe Erev Yom Kippur, in which they ask forgiveness from the people around them. For thousands of years, the Jewish people have practiced cleaning up their humanity before getting the real work done of cleaning up their souls. Pretty cool, huh?
And then, after all that, Bradley Cooper's character finally sits down to write. And, you know what? This was also not magic. He worked --; he spent hours and hours, without alcohol, television or any other distraction --; and he got his work done.
I think there is magic in the world, and I'm hoping someday somebody comes up with something that will unlock the vast, unused corners and crevices of my brain. But, even if they do, I really believe that there's an awful lot more to be accomplished by observation, straightening up and hard work than by some magical pill.
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.comhttp://arvadapress.com/stories/Humanity-might-be-a-magic-pill,219466?branding=15
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