Bloom Activity Library

No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge. The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind. The astronomer may speak to you of his understanding of space, but he cannot give you his understanding. The musician may sing to you of the rhythm, which is in all space, but he cannot give you the ear that arrests the rhythm nor the voice that echoes it. And he who is versed in the science of numbers can tell of the regions of weight and measure, but he cannot conduct you thither. For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man. And even as each one of you stands alone in God's knowledge, so must each one of you be alone in his knowledge of God and in his understanding of the earth.

In this movie Sam (Sean Penn) displays a mentally disabled man who must fight for custody of his young daughter. The child welfare board of his native Santa Monica has taken her from him, worried that at eight years old she has already begun to pass him in intellectual development. Sam’s argument is that it’s not brains but love that counts. Sam is duly aided by an intelligent lawyer (Michelle Pfeiffer) who in the course of discovering her client’s essential humanity, discovers her own as well.

This film explores hardship and joy inside a mental institution, where the dynamic personality of a few patients turns the ward upside down. His zest for living cannot be contained by the walls, staff, or psychiatric drugs, and under his influence many of the other patients begin to improve for the first time.

Lady Bracknell: Well, I must say, Algernon, that I think it is high time that Mr. Bunbury made up his mind whether he was going to live or die. This shilly-shallying with the question is absurd. Nor do I in any way approve of the modern sympathy with invalids. I consider it morbid. Illness of any kind is hardly a thing to be encouraged in others. Health is the primary duty of life. I am always telling that to your poor uncle, but he never seems to take much notice . . . as far as any improvement in his ailment goes. I should be much obliged if you would ask Mr. Bunbury, from me, to be kind enough not to have a relapse on Saturday, for I rely on you to arrange my music for me. It is my last reception, and one wants something that will encourage conversation, particularly at the end of the season when everyone has practically said whatever they had to say, which, in most cases, was probably not much.

Amidst the sickening murder of Wall Street Journalist, Daniel Pearl, this movie brings home some bright spot of a sense of community of friends in a alien land, of security officers, government officers which try to save a life. It ends with a optimistic note where Mariane Pearl seems to transcend hate and decides to start a noble community project in the very city, where her husband was murdered.

Dr. Eleanor Arroway is a scientist working for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. When she discovers a signal from a faraway star, it throws society into turmoil as the age-old conflict between reason and belief erupts. Dr. Arroway must reconcile her commitment to science with her rocky relationship to spirituality and with the pain of her past.

Once a week, take time to notice how the goodness of other people affects your life. Appreciate the beauty of positive human behavior. Put this on your calendar.

Inspired by the life of legendary athlete Jim Braddock, a once-promising light heavyweight boxer forced into retirement after a string of losses in the ring. As America plunges into the Great Depression of 1930s, Braddock accepts a string of dead-end jobs to support his family. A last minute cancellation finds Braddock in the ring against the second-ranked world contender–and to everyone’s amazement, Braddock wins in the third round. Despite being pounds lighter than his opponents and repeated injuries to his hands, Braddock continues to fight against challengers and win. The movie is an excellent illustration of hopes and dreams of the disenfranchised masses which dubs Braddock as "Cinderella Man."

After accidentally leading Union troops to victory during the Civil War, Lt. John Dunbar requests and receives reassignment to a remote outpost in the Dakotas. He befriends the local Lakota Sioux and is assimilated into their tribe, but must confront his conflicted loyalties when white settlers arrive and attempt to drive the Native Americans from the land. His character demonstrates the conflicts of interests and other challenges associated with leadership.

This movie portrays the life of Mohandas Gandhi, who pioneered the practice of nonviolent political protest in his efforts to free India from British colonial rule. Gandhi is often held up as an example of the highest mercy and morality, and his teachings have inspired leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. Nonetheless, he lived a simple life of poverty, humility, and spirituality.