There's a new movie out on Netflix (I call it "Netflickies") called 'Don't Look Up'. And as for those of us who are all about the spoilers, there literally aren't any -- a meteor is projected to hit Earth and no, there's nothing anybody can do to stop it, i.e., everyone dies.
Now that I've got that out of the way, there's way more to the movie and it's all in the last 20 minutes. I guess you can say it's a decent movie, but that's not why I'm here blathering on. In the last 20 minutes, we see humanity at its absolute best. Imagine this: you're told the time the meteor will hit the planet and as the impact ripples across the surface, it's not as easy as you thought the end would be. Sure those who were at the impact site are instantly dead, but on the other side of the world you're not quite sure until the ground beneath you begins shaking, the dishes on the table begin bouncing, the voices of those speaking around you begin breaking ...
... you are given the time to watch it all end.
I'm a Futurama fan to the enth degree and in one episode, the Professor builds a time machine where he accidently throws the clutch to the end of time. He, Fry, and Bender sit and watch the end of the universe with beer in hand, but then! Suddenly! The big bang happens before their eyes and they (and the show) are saved, being able to get back to the time they left (though five feet higher than before, thus squashing their former selves and equalizing the time-space continuum).
No, that wasn't a tangent - it was an example of rebirth after sitting and chilling in the bardo ... after watching it all end.
The end of 'Don't Look Up' didn't have a redawning I'd like to mention here (so if you want to see it, watch it - I didn't completely spoil it) and when the movie ended, it created a large pause in me that I wanted to share:
If I knew life in this splinter of reality was going to end on a certain day and time, what would I do?
All I could come up with is me sitting on my cushion, hopefully with my two cats close by, me wearing my favorite leggings, tea beside me ... because one would need tea while chilling in the bardo.
What would you do?
I watched the movie too, I saw the trailer and very curious about whether DiCaprio really gained a pot belly. Excellent actors in the movie, and the ending is such a nice twist. Recently I heard from a Rinpoche on Bardos teaching, he said: "Being able to live and die in a dignified way, we need the confidence that is derived from attaining realization through correct practices." That's the goal, isn't it? However, when I ask myself every morning: "Am I ready to die?" I never be sure about it, or to be honest, still so many attachments and very insufficient confidence. Haha, guess the practices needs to go on.