Daniel Lubetzky

I just finished watching Happy-Go-Lucky, directed by Mike Leigh.  Initially I was jarred by the ebullience of the lead character, played with Golden-Globe-winning excellence by Sally Hawkins.  But I stuck through it and discovered a well-executed character study of a woman with an eternally sunny personality (and her impact on others, including an irascible driving instructor solidly played by Eddie Marsan). 

If you think about it, it is pretty rare that we delve into understanding "excessively" positive people, compared to studies of darkness.  Yet the introspection pays off, and really delves nicely and naturally into her philosophy of life, human nature, and social conditioning.

Why do some of us live our lives wanting to be liked by everyone? Is it insecurity (from lack of affection, or from just biological need to be liked)?  Is it a Karmik outlook of life (treat others with warmth and it will come back to you)? Is it our genes? Or our family history or ethnic culture (living in the shadow of the Holocaust)?  Or our upbringing and parental models? Religious teaching? Is it guided by altruism, self-interest, or just being oneself?

And is it a "good" way to live our lives? Can we make this a better world by making others smile? (and doing unexpected acts of kindness for them – or KINDINGS – as KIND is encouraging with KINDED?).  And what drives some people to care so much about others and about making this world better, while others are less so motivated?

Do we yield better people if guided by social awareness and concern or by internal values?

One of my best friends never cares what anyone else thinks about him – and it doesn’t make him any less ethical or upstanding, quite the opposite in his case. He has a solid core of values, does what he feels is right, and doesn’t wonder how society will receive it.  He also doesn’t lose sleep.  But maybe he is a rare case? Certainly there are many examples of people who also do not care about what others may think and who are not role models for society.

Others like me are always wondering how their behavior and actions will be judged by others, very self-aware, introspective, and insecure.  In some ways this insecurity and self-consciousness can be a positive trait that makes us strive to be better and improve.  But it can also increase occasions of grief and worry, and more dangerously for people in positions of power or responsibility (say a politician leading a nation), it can cause them to bend to political/social pressure and potentially reach a wrong but ephemerally popular decision.  And just like in the other strand, there are also examples of self-aware people who may obsess about how others will see them but just put up fake mirrors and end up harming the world no less (think Bernard Madoff).

What is interesting about Poppy, the lead character in Happy-Go-Lucky, is that she is eternally positive and deeply committed to making those around her happier, WITHOUT judging herself or taking herself too seriously.  She is forgiving – of others and of herself.  That is quite interesting. And not as easy to emulate. She seems genuinely interested in healing the world – and in her own way, she quite succeeds at times.

Beyond values and outside impact, as far as our individual journeys in life, it certainly must be the case that having a positive outlook must yield greater happiness and joy in life than seeing life through gray. 

In very deep ways, attitude is destiny.

Here is a project that seems quite powerful:

…a mesmerizing dialogue between teh children of the perpetrators of the Holocaust and the children of the surivors.  Both live out the Holocaust daily, unable to move forward.  Both finally face the past and are empowered to move on.

The trailer video contained here is worth watching.

I’ve always felt the weight on my shoulders from my Dad’s survival of the Dachau concentration camp.  I cannot escape those shadows. It had never crossed my mind that the children of the perpetrators must have similarly been marked and shaped by that experience.  Very poignant, and the trailer seems to confront the issue with depth and introspection.  It includes the story of a marriage between the son of a survivor and the descendant of a major Nazi criminal.

Our amazing friend Jason Alexander, whose George Costanza character in Seinfeld is the furthest thing different from the real Jason, spoke to OneVoice youth earlier today about the Imagine 2018 essay and film project and caught a ton of media attention.

It cracks me up how amazing stuff happens every day by ordinary Israelis and Palestinians but never gets media coverage.  It takes a celebrity to get attention for moderates.

Below is a good article from Ha’aretz and a video from Jerusalem Online that covers the meeting.

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A year ago we conceived a project to help young Palestinians and Israelis visualize what their lives would be like ten years from now if peace were to come.  To dare them to believe, hoping this will then prompt them to invest into turning this vision into a reality.  The project, Imagine 2018, received thousands of essay submissions from students, and captivated the imagination of millions.

Now its next phase – turning children’s winning essays into short films by award-winning directors – is also becoming a reality, as described in this email from Gil from OneVoice Israel. The next step is to make peace a reality.

Soldier and Boy                 Tel Aviv Damascus

Dear all,

We would like to update you that OVI had filmed the 2 short movies of the "imagine 2018" project.

There were two days of shooting : 24-25 of may.

Overall the outcomes  were beyond our expectations, since the producers and directors were very professional and organized, and they were able to recruit some of the best actors in the local market, that made this project very prestigious .we had:  Yona Elian – A very famous and respectable theater and movie  actor. an Israeli icon, Aki Avni, a very talented and well known actor. worked in LA in the past few years, Clara khoury, who played the "Syrian bride", Oshri Cohen, played a leading role in "beau for" Ali Nassaer (an Arab Israeli  actor and director) and the amazing kid , Abdallah Akkal.

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For those who can understand Hebrew – and for those who will get a kick out of just seeing the b-roll – here is a link to a story that appeared on Channel 2 in Israel, in their top news program, about OneVoice’s project Imagine 2018 – and the first two short films that were created by leading directors from essays from young kids visualizing what their world will look like in the year 2018.

דני דה ויטו ואקי אבני יעשו לנו שלום?

בארגון ONE VOICE בטוחים – יהיה שלום במזרח התיכון. השאלה רק איך הוא ייראה, בעוד עשר שנים נניח. אז איך זה קשור לדני דה ויטו ואקי אבני?

אורן אהרוני | המהדורה המרכזית, חדשות 2

Watch this to the end.

With OVI and OVP Youth leaders

At dinner wearing OV pin

With Mika Almog and Lior Shlain

Avi Cohen, the "godfather" of humor in the Israeli TV, learns about OV from Gil Shamy

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Behind the scenes, in the green room at the Oscars, what are they serving the celebrities? KIND Fruit and Nut bars.

The Oscars’ Green Room is the exclusive territory of Hollywood’s A-list: award presenters, winners, and Academy big-wigs. So when you see your favorite actor or actress on stage, there’s a good chance they were snacking on KIND just a few minutes earlier.

Thanks to Phil Walotsky, Laura Ziskin and Michael Seligman for sharing the #1 healthy snack in the US with the Oscar winners!

We saw this movie last week and it is still on my mind.  My favorite this year, and certainly among my all-time favorites. I recommend it to all.

Several friends called or emailed to let me know Danny DeVito was hilarious at the Israel Film Festival, where he also encouraged the audience to get involved with OneVoice.  This article will give you an idea…

“Look around. A lot of you are bald,” said the actor, who was introduced by Michael Douglas — DeVito’s oldest show business friend and former roommate in a one-bedroom Manhattan apartment — with a crack about absent hair. DeVito went on to make an earnest plea for support of the grass-roots organization in which he and his wife, actress Rhea Perlman, are involved: the OneVoice Movement, which pushes for peace in the Middle East.

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