I have struggled with writing this particular article. However, when something stays with me the way this movie has I have to write in order to let go.

With all due respect, I can see why this movie is being so highly recognized and rewarded as a great work of direction and acting. It is what it is.

Collective Pain Body
It disturbs me to see that this is what America is enjoying as a form of entertainment. If I look at this through the concept of the “pain body” (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth) I can see why so many people actually enjoyed this display of remorseless violence.

The old adage, “misery loves company” applies perfectly to Eckhart’s theory of the pain body.

When someone, or even a collective society, is in pain they feed off of others in pain. It is not at all deliberate. It is unconscious.

Social Pain Body
Have you ever been with a group of friends or family when someone begins complaining about their teenage kids, or elderly parents, or siblings? The next thing you know everyone is jumping in with their own woes about similar or worse family issues. Sometimes it feels like they are trying to out do each other.

These are their pain bodies talking, not the true nature of these beings. In the past I have found these forms of interactions disturbing and depressing. I am very much an eternal optimist and it felt like the negative words deflected off of me painfully.

Allowing It
Eckhart writes how instead of putting up a shield when we are in an uncomfortable environment, to try to allow the discomfort pass through you. Create a calm presence inside of you.

As I watched No Country For Old Men, I tried to let it go through me and not internalize it. What a great exercise it was for me. The thing is, as I was able to do that I was also able to appreciate what was good about this movie. The message, acting and direction were excellent.

It still saddens me that there are so many people in such pain that this kind of violence gets glorified with an Oscar. However, I believe we are on our way to a new earth (my eternal optimism speaking here).

See Through It
The next time you are in a disturbing situation or dealing with a difficult individual, try to let it pass through you. It is amazing how clearly you will see the underlying goodness in that person or situation.

If misery loves company, misery has company enough.—Henry David Thoreau