Hey Everyone! I’m Pete Furnier. Thank you for visiting our website. On this page
I intend to share thoughts with you about making life better. From time to time I’ll
provide new writings and I welcome your input.
Our Need for Community
Have you seen the movie, About a Boy? It came out back in 2002. It stars Hugh Grant playing the role of Will Freeman. He goes through life doing whatever he wants to do. He’s able to live a life of luxury because of the royalties of a Christmas song that his deceased father composed. Will is single and his purpose in life revolves around himself. That’s why he’s given the name Will Freeman. He spends his day surfing on the Internet, shooting pool and going to the salon to keep his hair “carefully disheveled.”
In the opening scene, Will is watching the game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He hears the question, "Who wrote the phrase No man is an island." John Donne, John Milton, John F. Kennedy, or Jon Bon Jovi “Jon Bon Jovi. Too easy!” Will looking at the television replies. "And, if I may say so, a complete load of bollocks.'; Immediately afterwards he shares his philosophy of life:
“In my opinion all men are islands. And what's more, now is the time to be one. This is an Island Age. A hundred years ago, for instance, you had to depend on other people. No one had TV or CDs or DVDs or videos or home espresso makers. In fact, they didn't have anything cool. Whereas now you see you can make yourself a little island paradise. With the right supplies and more importantly the right attitude you can be sun-drenched, tropical, a magnet for young Swedish tourists. And I like to think, perhaps, that kind of island.”
As you continue watching what follows, you soon realize that Will is not happy. In fact he’s pitiful and shallow. But he ends up meeting a twelve-year-old boy and his mother who is painfully depressed. She is miserable just like Will. Eventually Will begins to look at life differently and begins interacting with people in deeper ways.There is more authenticity in his relationships with people. How did this happen? Well the youngster, Marcus, helps Will to see that going through life as a loner isn't enough. Even two people are not enough. There needs to be more…community.
At the conclusion of the film, Will has a many new friends and he shares his philosophy of life: "Every man is an island, I stand by that. But, clearly, some men are part of island chains. Below the surface of the ocean, they're actually connected."
It’s my prayer that at our community center we can do our part to make life better
by bringing people together.
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