Part of me has gone there to stay

The title of this painting, Meridians, refers to a set of pathways in the body in which vital energy is said to flow. This painting represents the individual and also the collective energy of all living beings, the earth and the harmony that is possible.

I met Optimus Prime, yesterday, thanks to my eight year old son who invited me to the most recent Transformers movie. I admit, the ONLY reason I agreed to go to the movie yesterday was to spend two hours sitting beside my son and to do something he wanted to do that appeared to make him happy. I was completely surprised that I enjoyed the actual movie, though sitting beside Clive in the afternoon, in the quiet, cool dark of the summer movie theatre had such a sweetness to it and is still the highlight of this experience.

That said, Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, is awesome and I want to learn more about him. Maybe catch a few more Transformers movies, however many there are. I can see why they are popular. There is a sincerity, a protective nature to the Transformers … especially Optimus Prime. The transformers care about the well-being of earth’s population. They care about our quality of life and our future and are willing to sacrifice themselves at the cost of it. They are aliens, technically, is my understanding. I actually prefer this type of alien as opposed to the bulbous-head, thin bodied, green aliens I have grown accustomed to.

Maybe it is because this movie took me by surprise. Its creativity goes beyond what has become standard in the field of alien folklore. I remember living in Nevada, nearly ten years ago, and seeing the extraterrestrial highway. No way was I driving on that. I stopped to see a meteor that had crashed into the earth in Nevada and left a giant impact in the ground but I was not interested in seeing any aliens. Transformers, I would be interested in seeing. And the bad guys in the movies, the fake transformers the misguided humans had created out of the remains of maybe evil transformers lost in battle, even those were not so bad. I mean they were bad, but not like the orcs in Lord of the Rings. Some of them were convinced to take the side of good.

Optimus Prime quotes I found on the Internet:

In any war, there are calms between the storms. There will be days when we lose faith, days when our allies turn against us. But the day will never come, that we forsake this planet and its people.

And though we are worlds apart, like us, there’s more to them (the humans) than meets the eye.

The greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others how they love them while they’re alive.

Talk about touching; a protective, benevolent, kindhearted population of aliens who grasps a concept that we are human, that we make mistakes, that embraces our failures and cares for us anyway. It is understood the population of earth is less mature and should not be judged for it. There are moments when parts of the team question their interest in continuing. They are brought back together by their leader either directly or by their memory of him.

As Optimus Prime is nearly in salvage because of sustained injuries in the Battle of Chicago, the mechanic who found him reaches out to repair this transformer. Optimus Prime asks why he is repairing him. I am gathering that in previous movies there has been a misunderstanding of loyalties between the Autobots and humans. The mechanic responds to his question by saying, “Maybe because you trust me to.”

This movie has elements that can take it to a deeper level. I find it fascinating and I enjoy immensely a jump into another world. I find Transformers believable and full of wonder. I would like to enter this world, again. Part of me is still in this world. Part of me has gone there to stay.

There is a Billy Crystal book in which he writes about taking his grandchild to a movie and watching the child watching the movie. I did that, too. I watched Clive watching the movie. It was a wonderful day, after too many days of challenging things happening in my life and in the world in general. I have been tired, lately, and not writing as much. My dog, Mila has died after a short battle with a very aggressive lymphoma and her death has opened the gates to deep grieving. Mila was my companion of nearly ten years. She was with me through my pregnancy with Clive and in the room to welcome him within minutes of his birth at home, in Santa Fe. She is dearly missed and remembered with gratitude for the days of her life she shared with my family.

While we are alive and together, on this earth, may we share our lives gracefully, while embracing our humanity, and may that grace extend into eternity. Tell someone, today, your care for their life … better still, show them.

Camille Ellington