Watch “The Magnitude of All Things” on July 12 at Red Lily Vineyards

An Essay by Lily Myers Kaplan, Executive Director, Spirit of Resh Foundation

Every day I ponder the precarious nature of life on earth. We are in deep trouble. Smoky skies increase each summer. Ponderosa after Ponderosa succumbs to pine beetles. Drought deepens. With each death my heart grows heavy.

From October to May I breathe deeply as the air clears. The grass greens. My fears relax. While the rains aren’t exactly prominent, there is moisture. Rainbows return. I shift from despair to hope. Yet, even in the winter, I wonder, What can I do? How to meet the challenges of climate change? It seems too big a problem to solve. I know more than a few folks who’ve packed up and moved out. That’s one solution. But as the phrase ‘climate refugee’ becomes more common, it’s clear that none of us can truly escape this planetary crisis. That’s the thing. It’s planetary. There is no escape.

Then I came across this film, The Magnitude of All Things. I watched and I wept. It didn’t offer solutions, but it gave a kind of balm. Seeing people worldwide—from activists to Indigenous Peoples—engendered acceptance. My sorrow didn’t dissipate, but I found greater grace within it. As an End-of-Life Doula—one who accompanies the dying and grieving—when death presents, I bring deepest compassion and presence. The film affirmed that treating the declining planet with the same reverence I bring to human loss is sacred.

I’ve worked with grieving people for decades. I’ve discovered that healing comes when mourners feel met, slowly rising from despair when the grief is witnessed without agenda. Watching this film offered me that kind of solace and initiated a desire to share its powerful storytelling with others. Wherever love of earth transcends ideology and political persuasion, this film opens hearts. I am proud to bring The Magnitude of All Things, to the Applegate, where we so deeply value the land, river, and spectacular beauty of the earth. The Magnitude of All Things speaks to the heart, to the heart of the matter of all we are witnessing, and to the human heart that binds us to this beautiful earth.

Please watch this powerful film with me and others as the sun sets. We’ll hold small group discussion afterwards. It’ll be outside, on July 12, at Red Lily Vineyards where you can purchase a delicious meal, have a glass of wine and relax on the grass. It’s a free event. Bring blankets and chairs for your ease and comfort.

Here’s a teaser and a link to the trailer. “A cinematic exploration of the emotional and psychological dimensions of climate change: When Jennifer Abbott lost her sister to cancer, her sorrow opened her up to the profound gravity of climate breakdown, drawing intimate parallels between the experiences of grief—both personal and planetary. Stories from the frontlines of climate change merge with recollections from the filmmaker’s childhood on Ontario’s Georgian Bay. What do these stories have in common? The answer, surprisingly, is everything.” Here’s a link to the trailer: https://www.themagnitudeofallthings.com/.

Screening rights procured by Spirit of Resh Foundation. Free event co-sponsored by A Greater Applegate and Crossroads Death-Care (Takilma).

For more information, call Lily Myers Kaplan/Spirit of Resh Foundation at 510-390-1098.