The Human Experience

I had never heard of The Human Experience until tonight. I found it while browsing on Netflix instant view and it is by far one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. What these young men were able to learn and accomplish is remarkable. We should all be so lucky as to see the true heart of humanity. In some ways I feel very lucky. I interact on a regular basis with people that most, Americans at least, only drive by or never even know exist. I must admit that when I started this experience four years ago I was the same as most, I was afraid of those I had no prior knowledge about, no experience knowing. The thought of being in a room with someone who is homeless, has HIV, is on drugs, is schizophrenic or suicidal all of these things was scary to me and something I had never before experienced until medical school. I can say without a doubt that my perspective on people has changed, some for the better and some for the worse, after my four years. I used to always wonder when I walked by homeless people on the street what horrible thing happened to them that caused their experience in life to be so different from my own. And while no one experience is universal, there seem to be common threads uniting lives on the streets, the most common of them all is abuse and addiction. I have seen things I never even wanted to imagine happening to someone and learned of pain so great I honestly do not think that if I were in the same position I could have survived. But I have also seen great hope, great love and great resilience. I hope that this documentary can bring a little bit of humanity - of the common threads that unite us all to the living rooms of those who do not get to experience a different life from their own on a regular basis. My view may be temporary and from a distinct role in an authoritative or expert position but I feel incredibly blessed to have had my life touched by all those I have taken care of.

http://www.grassrootsfilms.com/thehumanexperience/