One of my favourite movies of all time is entitled “Lost Horizon”. It is based on a 1933 novel by James Hilton. Actually, there are two Lost Horizon movies based on this same book. The 1937 film was greatly received and the 1973 musical adaptation, well shall we say, was not well received. In either case, they captured my mind with the possibility of having a heaven on earth existence.
The story is about a veteran British diplomatic named Hugh Conway. As he is finishing up a difficult mission overseas, he and a small group of others are kidnapped in a plane and brought to a remote area of the eastern world where the plane crashes into a snow-capped mountain range and the pilot is killed. Luckily, Conway and the others survive and are rescued by a group from the nearby lamasery of Shangri-La.
The bulk of the movie focuses on the life Conway discovers in Shangri-La. For the first time in his life he finds inner peace, love and a sense of purpose. He also discovers that due to the lamasery’s isolation and perfect environment, the inhabitants enjoy unheard-of longevity. They live for hundreds of years and maintain consistent health.
The perfect dream?
If this all sounds like a perfect dream that’s because it is. Once the film credits roll, myself and the rest of the movie-goers depart from the show and head back out into the real world. The world that is anything but perfect.
Oh, if there were only a real Shangri-La! Actually, there is, but it is not here yet. Let me explain by way of an ancient prayer.
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