Feel good if the sun is shining and the wind is blowing

We often forget how blissful life is.

In the hubbub of life, we end up ignoring the feeling of gratitude.

My wife and I recently watched the movie Finch starring Tom Hanks (on Apple TV).

The world has been destroyed by a massive solar flare (in the movie).

A big part of the stratosphere is gone.

The ozone layer has evaporated.

The earth is scorched and everything, even skyscrapers, is buried under sand.

No plants. No water. Just relentless, hot wind. Unpredictable sandstorms, with hundreds of miles per hour intensity.

The direct sunlight immediately burns the skin due to the high levels of ultraviolet rays.

Finch roams around in a space suit whenever he goes out.

He forages for food in buildings, houses, shops, and malls. He drives around his RV that he has customized for his needs.

Every couple of days he goes out, finds food, and brings it for himself and his dog.

There is no other human being in the story, and it is shown that coming across humans can be dangerous because people can kill you for a tiny can of food.

Finch is a scientist and lives in a highly computerized bunker.

One day his computer tells him that a super storm is approaching that will last more than 40 days.

Since he cannot survive for 40 days, he decides to move, along with the AI robot (Jeff) that he has built, and the dog.

He decides to go to San Francisco.

Many adventures happen along the way, but to cut the story short, suddenly, after they have traveled hundreds of miles and gone through numerous difficulties, when Jeff is driving the RV, an insect hits the windshield.

Finch is dumbfounded for a few seconds. For an insect to hit the windshield, it has to survive in the open. It means, the insect didn’t burn….

He looks outside. A sheet of greenery covers the landscape. There is a thin stream of water running nearby. The sky is blue, and clouds are drifting.

Very cautiously he stretches his hand out into the sun and his hand doesn’t burn.

Slowly, he steps outside, without wearing his space suit, and goes under the sun, stretching his arms.

In the beginning of the film, he tells Jeff that he is dying to feel the sun on his body once again and rues the fact that it will never happen.

And now he’s standing under the sun, feeling the wind on his body and grass under his feet. There is a tiny flower near his feet and a couple of butterflies flutter around.

In the movie they haven’t told what happens. Maybe at some places atmosphere has begun to heal. Maybe there are some parts of the world that aren’t fully destroyed. That’s not the point.

The point is, the sun, the wind, and the ability to stand outside, we take it for granted, and for him, at that particular moment, it is a moment of great bliss.

You have to see the movie to see how beautifully he acts the scene.

How lucky we are to have this planet, this wind, this sun, the plants around us and every other thing that defines life on Earth.

We often forget this. Just the fact that we are breathing, is a blessing.

Yes, there are other problems in life. But whenever you’re feeling everything is going down, just look out, or step outside. Marvel at the world around you. If the buildings are not falling, if the trees are not burning, and if you can breathe oxygen, appreciate the fact.

You will feel much better.