Influence of creative work on outcomes

¶ … Creative Work

The Wind and the Lion

Art moves us. Whether we are appreciating a masterful painting, enjoying some music, reading fiction or poetry, or just sitting in a dark room watching a motion picture with hundreds of others doing the same, at some level we all realize what it would mean to us were there no art in the world. There is a reason why people continue to produce works of art, and a reason why others continue to appreciate them; art adds meaning to life and broadens the mind, in a sense, very much the way travel does. Art resonates with the human soul and spirit; it means being able to stand in front of an abstract painting and addressing the painter mentally, "Yes, of course, I know exactly what you mean."

The very first time I saw "The Wind and the Lion," it was like that for me. I felt that I knew exactly what director John Milius was trying to say with his motion picture. In a subtle way, I have not been the same since watching it.

A sometimes feel that modern people have exchanged depth of life for pace of life. Is a much faster-paced life really a substitute for one with great depth? What is the American dream these days, if not the acquisition of consumer goods and participation in as many activities as possible? True, life can be enriched to an extent by these things, but it seems a very superficial kind of enrichment; like wrapping an empty box in the fanciest wrapping paper and bows. It merely simulates richness.

In these modern times, things happen so quickly, there is no time to derive meaning from them. Our lives have become increasingly "stream of consciousness" such that, now, few of us have time to sit and think, time to imagine things, time to "defrag" and assimilate our daily experiences. Spare time, so-called, is most often spent in front of a television or surfing the web. An idle hour or two not engaged in some kind of activity is wasted time to most modern people.

Incredibly, it was "The Wind and the Lion" that started me realizing this.

There is a scene in this film in which President Theodore Roosevelt (played by Brian Keith) is at a shooting range with his children and the Secretary of State. Between firing rounds, Roosevelt takes time to clean his gun and have a conversation with his daughter about respecting one's enemies. It is a very quiet and strong moment...a powerful one.

Elsewhere, the Raisuli (Mulay Achmed Mohammed el-Raisuli the Magnificent, played by Sean Connery), is telling a story around a campfire about his imprisonment by his kinsman. The firelight plays on everyone's faces as they sit enraptured around the Raisuli. They are eating lamb or goat under the stars, and it is just a perfect moment.

The Wind and the Lion" is absolutely full of perfect moments. Roosevelt hunting bear in Yosemite, the Raisuli's conversation with Mrs. Pedecaris (Candice Bergen) over a game of chess, her son's dream of all the things that had happened to his family, even Roosevelt complaining about the way his rifle fits against his shoulder. The only things that happen quickly in this film are duels and pitched battles.