I watched a documentary over the weekend that’s so simple in its premise, but so mind-boggling and humbling in terms how amazing a message it is. It’s a curated film consisting of footage shot by people all over the world on 24 July, 2010. Some of the footage is so familiar, some of it feels like it’s from another universe. And yet, every single frame is magical in its ability to capture the quintessentially human nature of all our lives, good or bad. 

It’s very intense to see such a broad range of experiences packed into such a short film. Everything from childbirth to cow slaughter to a mass stampede, everywhere from war zones in Afghanistan to suburban American homes to untarnished natural landscapes in central Asia. 

I think what this film shows us is something we all know on a subliminal level, but forget, when we jump to conclusions, judge others and believe that our needs and wants are more important than anything else. It shows us that there are so many lives being lived in so many places - our own everyday geographies are just such a small, small piece of such a great big puzzle. Our lived realities are so complex, and so ephemeral that we can barely hope to learn who we are in a lifetime, let alone presume to have others (and what they should and shouldn’t do) all figured out. And chances are, whatever we’re going through, there’s someone else that’s going through something similar who we can reach out to, or there’s someone else going through something much worse, reminding us to appreciate what we have. 

I don’t know how this film does it - it reminds us that the world is an intensely beautiful and magical place, and yet shows us the ugliest possible side of the human race; it makes us feel like the world is so big and vast, full of so many things to learn and explore, and yet it shows us that some things, like love, inspiration, motivation, sorrow, pain, hunger, despair, hope, and fury are common to us all, no matter who or where we are. It makes it feel an inexplicable sense of kinship with every loved one, every stranger, and every non-human living being on this planet, and yet it makes us feel so hopelessly, acutely small and alone. 

The entire film is available for free on YouTube, legally too!