— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
It can be hard to live with diversity – but it doesn’t have to be. As I was recently reminded in viewing a documentary, we ourselves make it so.
The documentary is entitled “Human”, and I came across it the other day, when doing research on the topic of global ethics. It’s from 2015, and I wish I had known of it from its release. Even the three-minute-long trailer of “Human” is stunning, intellectually as well as visually.
The documentary, which is composed of interviews of over 2000 people from 60 countries, immerses us immediately in images and stories of humankind around the world today. It poses thereby two key questions. First, what does it mean to be a human and second, how are we humans the same, and how are we different? These seem to be simple questions, but they prove not to be so straightforward and, in fact, to be difficult to answer.
By confronting us with so many faces and lives, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the director, challenges us, his viewers, to define and position ourselves in relation to them. Are these people and their experiences like us and ours? Can we, do we, see ourselves in them?
Viewing “Human” is tiring, and not just because the documentary is over four hours long. As I did, I sought at first to make sense of what I was being shown. I tried to figure out exactly who was being presented (what language was that that they were speaking? what group did they look like they belong to?) as well as what situation they were in (what was going on there? what might they be thinking and feeling?).
After a while, I gave up. Trying to do so was futile, the number and range of the individuals depicted, often in close-up shots, being overwhelming. More than that, I realized that it was the wrong approach to take to the documentary. Focusing on such differences of ‘identity’ or ‘background’ would prevent me from perceiving these people as my fellow humans.
Maybe mine was a shared and natural reaction among the documentary’s viewers. I’d be interested in knowing how you react. Further, maybe that was what the director Arthus-Bertrand wanted to provoke. The many other aerial shots of humanity, in which you see but can’t recognize individuals, makes me think that this cinematographic effect was in fact deliberate.
By the end of “Human”, I had not only lost ‘them’, but had also found myself, in a common humanity. I hope hereafter to perceive the diversity around me with a similar sensitivity.
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 