Finding Shangri-la
Everyone defines Shangri-la differently. One of the first films I came to love was a 1937 epic by Frank Capra called Lost Horizon. Despite being one of the best and most thoughtful films of its time ever produced not many people know about it. The movie contained a message of peace and pacifism at a time when the world was gearing up for war. In it, actor Ronald Coleman escapes the violence and turmoil of China to find the mythic Shangri-la lost in the Himalayas. Shangri-la for Coleman was a peaceful place filled with beauty, thought and contemplation, yet for others it might be something completely different. We all have our own definitions for everything in life. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously replied in 1964 when answering the question what is Justice Potter Stewart pornography? "I know it when I see it." In truth Shangri-la is a concept so intrinsically personal only you will know it when you find it. It is very much like Buddhist enlighte