I'm a big believer in the arts. I feel the arts stretch our thinking and no matter what our career is, we'll always do better if we color outside the lines. I'm also a big believer in dreams and taking action to make them come true.
This is what brought me to a local film festival this past weekend and found me sitting in the back row of an independent film called The Meaning of Life. With Cat Hostick, a young female director who took a few cinematography courses at university at the helm and Tyler Shaw, who toured with Selena Gomez as a singer/songwriter, making his acting debut. Shot in ten days on a self-funded low budget in Toronto and Oakville, this story squeezes your heart.
A young musician struggling to make it in the music world takes a side job playing for sick children in hospital. He meets a 9-year-old girl, played by Sadie Munroe, who is terminally ill. They go on a journey together to find out the meaning of life, and although he almost gives up music completely, in the end he learns an important, life-changing lesson that he'll never forget.
This little story with big heart moved the audience and reminded me that anything is possible if you believe. Although it's a challenge to make an independent film a reality, which Executive Producer Russ De Jong can attest to, it is an invaluable opportunity to bring a beautiful story to life.
Whatever your dream might be, as mythologist and writer Joseph Campbell once said, "I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive." What makes you come alive? What is your dream? Follow it and you have found the meaning of life.
The Meaning of Life.