Don Thompson

The Book > Stories > Don Thompson
Don Thompson
Filmmaker, playwright, essayist
New York, NY

"Works like The Visionary call upon us to act with what I would call a ‘natural morality.’ Such a morality is not forced from outside, but rises from within."

There is something wordless, deep, and resonant that inspires people in the movement toward the ineffable. And yet, the ineffable calls on us to act—often with inspired words that are the natural outflow of its presence. This is what comes to me from Birgitte’s brilliant work The Visionary—as it spoke to me in recognition of my own visions and aspirations, my own call to write and convey inspired language and images. A calling like that can lead us to create art, be the rallying cry for social justice, or simply inspire us to engender positive energy and hope.

Works like The Visionary call upon us to act with what I would call a ‘natural morality.’ Such a morality is not forced from outside, but rises from within.
 
Yet this natural morality is not always the easy road, particularly in the beginning. While it is humbling to have your readers, whether it be the Dalai Lama or a father from Virginia, respond positively to your work, others may react differently, and that can sting. One person might tell you how a play you wrote still resonates with them to this day, 30 years after they first saw it, while others might occasionally express anger at your work. One might call you a genius, while another will call you a fool.
 
And yet you go on, compelled to act, out of the love you feel for this inner voice that tells you to follow the road less traveled. If you're on the right track, the negative voices will recede like dust settling from an untamed wind, leaving behind only the clarity of air.
 
I believe that through this less traveled path, this ancient, natural morality—combined with enlightened, holistic science—we can forge a wider path that will allow us to provide for all the people of the world, in such a way that will not destroy the Earth but rather protect it as sacred ground. The work of visionaries should ideally be the guideposts on that path.
 
~ Don Thompson

Spanning over 30 years, Don Thompson’s work has been called ‘remarkable’ by the Dalai Lama, and political pundit Thom Hartmann has referred to him as ‘the idealist’s idealist’. His film projects have won awards at festivals such as Sundance and Cinema for Peace, and his acclaimed plays have been produced coast to coast. As an essayist, Don has been a staunch advocate of an inclusive, humanistic worldview that promotes shared human values. He has also been a thought leader in the digital cinema revolution, predicting the advent of YouTube- and Facebook-like technologies, live cinema, and other innovations.

Learn more about Don and his work at www.nextpix.com.