I was first lured into the film NOW IS GOOD by the clever trailer which
looked fascinating, spiritual, and unique. This dramatic film about a 17 year
old girl fighting leukemia seemed like it would be a big tear-jerker and, while
it certainly has its moments of tenderness and emotion, it is a beautiful and
healing film at its core. The cinematography is stunning and creative, and the
deep themes and messages showcase lessons of the human spirit.
Dakota Fanning does a brilliant job as the heroine Tessa, and
her boyfriend Adam (played by Jeremy Irvine) is also an extremely lovable
character. Their relationship is one of the best examples of unconditional love
that I’ve seen on the silver screen. It left me yearning so deeply for more
love and romance in my life.
I think on some level all of us want to care for another and
feel deeply taken care of while we bring out the best in each other, and this
is what Tessa and Adam have together. While they are just teenagers, they teach
us about the commitment, kindness, and courage it takes to love, even when they
know they will get hurt. This film helped me to see how I had been protecting
myself from being hurt again in a relationship by staying small and invisible, and in turn not giving and receiving all the love that is available to me. NOW IS GOOD inspired me to risk opening my heart again.
This film essentially has three main messages. The first,
and most obvious, is the message from the title NOW IS GOOD which is all about
living in the present moment. The best line in the film is about life being a
series of moments. While watching Tessa’s story unfold, the viewer can tell
which are the moments that take her breath away, that mean something, and that
are to be remembered. Tessa has a “list” of things she wants to experience like
sex, drugs, fame, shoplifting, and while many are pretty ego-based experiences,
we somehow can relate to all of them. I feel like if I had months left to live,
I too would choose some unusual and intense experiences for my list (i.e. #1 horseback riding on a beach, #5 skydiving!). It’s
apparent that the intention behind each item on the list is to feel alive, courageous, and fully
present. I can imagine this is how anyone must want to feel when they know their
days are numbered. And yet, we can always live this way because the only true
joy is in the present moment and our lives are about the journey and not the
destination. Hay House author Robert Holden says the word “now” is a synonym for
the word life.
Another message in the film is about how we impact the lives
of others. I have a belief system that we are all both students and teachers of
life and we have a ripple effect on each other. Tessa changes the course of her
loved ones by calling forward her mother’s parenting and courage, to her Dad’s
purpose, to her best friend’s difficult choice, to her brother’s joy and wisdom. You also
see how she directly impacts her boyfriend’s life by giving him new direction
and the desire to live fully again. The moment when she realizes her impact is
one of the most profound moments in the movie and one of the best scenes I’ve
witnessed in a while. It’s a reminder to us why we are really here. I believe
that Tessa came to teach these lessons and what I like to call “spiritual
curriculum” to those in her “soul family” (i.e. those closest to her that she
loved the most) and also to those who watch this film.
Her story made me question something…..is it more painful to
die and leave behind all that you could still do/be/have or is it more painful
to lose someone? I feel blessed that I
have never had to be in this position and yet I know death and loss are
unavoidable in life. The only real control we have is to treat each moment and
each human encounter and relationship as precious. How different would our
lives be if we lived as though each day was our last? What would we say to each other? What would we do? How deeply would we love?
The late Steve Jobs said, “Remembering
that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking
you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to
follow your heart."
I recently had a conversation with a good friend about not
wanting to die with our music still in us. I suggested to him that he vision
the end of his life and sit in his deathbed and see what it is that he regrets
and then to start to DO or BE those things NOW. I told him that the only thing
I would regret is not having told people I loved them or knowing that they
loved me. My sense is that all we keep when we transition is the love and that part
of us never ever dies. And to participate in life with “no regrets” is deeply
transformational.
Tessa is an example to all of us that “now” is most
definitely good because it is all that we have. We need to spend our “nows”
wisely. We can’t waste a minute in regret, in anger, in judgment or in
frustration that something is not happening our way. The only thing that is
limited in our lives is time. We don’t know how much we get, but we do know one
day it will end. So I encourage you to look at how you are spending yours, with
whom, and why.
The last lesson I was left with was about hope. NOW IS GOOD
helped me heal because I cried afterwards from all the sad memories stored in my heart. I
felt so vulnerable, so fragile, and I could feel so much compassion for what we
go through as humans. I thought about all the losses I’ve experienced, and
those my friends and family have as well. And yet I heard the wise voice of my intuition
and she talked to me about hope. She gave me the beautiful example of my best
friend who broke up with her boyfriend at 23 and was so devastated at the time and she
told me I would have smiled and laughed then if I had known that 10 years later
I would be the one to marry the two of them in a beautiful wedding ceremony.
She reminded me to not lose hope because it’s in that focus that helps us to
get by in this sad, beautiful, mad, inspiring, and perfectly imperfect
world. She reminded me, as did Tessa,
that love will prevail.
Entertain, Enlighten, Inspire,
Kate Neligan - CEO/Founder of Synergy TV
P.S. A recent, real-life "Now is Good" story recently came out thanks to our friends at Soul Pancake. Here is the inspiring, heart-wrenching, and heart-warming story of a recent teenager who left behind a message and legacy of LOVE. Over 8 million people have watched this in just a matter of days.... this is the content Synergy TV will create, distribute, and promote. We love to share and tell these stories. Grab a box of tissues and enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NjKgV65fpo
