This week I was fortunate enough to click on a link to a video, Lovebirds, that an amazing artist and spirited friend of mine, Christine Mason Miller, had posted on Facebook.
The video is from film shot in the 1940’s by and of Christine’s grandparents. But that doesn’t tell you anything. What the video is, to me, is gorgeous footage of what is possible in life. How we can touch one another. How we can experience outrageous joy in the simplest of moments.
The video is the way she gently brushes his hair away from his forehead; how she removes her shoes to splash with him in the water; how they dance-hug-play on a rock out in a meadow. It’s the way he zooms in to hold her with his gaze. It’s the glint in her eye when she grins at him. The video is palpable and contagious vitality — love in action.
I’ve watched this video over and over. And I so hope you’ll take four minutes right now to lean back in your chair and take it in. Why? Because I think it’ll move you. I think it’ll crack your heart open. I think you’ll feel the joy.
For me, is impossible to watch without considering how I want to experience the relationships in my own life. What moments do I want to create with my friends and family? How do I want to love?
Back in July, I wrote about intentionally falling in love. This video feels like an invitation to me to intentionally love out loud, as if any moment could be my last. Which, of course, is true.
When I watch this video, it seems to ask me, “Are you alive and present, too?” I guess that is what I most want to share with you, always: those things that call us to be most present and alive.
Speaking of … Christine Mason Miller is someone who brings so much life into life. She’s sparkle and thoughtfulness and color and awareness. She’s a Santa Monica-based artist, writer, and explorer. If you check out her blog, you’ll discover lots of beautiful treasures in her words and photos. (Oh, and keep your eyes out. Christine has a new book coming out next year!). I’m really grateful to Christine for sharing her grandparents with the world. I think we need all the reminders we can get!
Photo copyright Christine Mason Miller.