True

One of my favorite films is Bruce Weber's "A Letter To True". If you have not seen it, it is an interesting melange of documentary footage, story fragments and seemingly unrelated topics. In short, it is "all over the place" and that is one of the reasons that I love it. It mirrors my own scatter-shot thought process.

There is one segment that always shakes me up emotionally. It is footage of Martin Luther King Jr. giving a speech...here are some of his words:

....Every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral. And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. Every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?" And I leave the word to you this morning....I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say that day, that I tried to be right on the war question. I want you to be able to say that day, that I did try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day, that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity.Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a drum major for righteousness.

The footage is even more powerful...which is saying something considering just reading the text makes me tear up. It blows me away that such simple words and concepts can set such an empoweringly high standard for living. A standard that I often fail at.