In one scene from Cloud Atlas, which I regard as one of the most profound and beautiful films made in the last decade, we are taken to 1973.

Luisa Rey, played by Halle Berry, is a courageous journalist trying to uncover the truth about a dangerous reactor. She has a memorable conversation with Isaac Sachs, played by Tom Hanks, a scientist working on the project for Seaboard Corp. I bring you an excerpt from that conversation and from the thoughts Isaac Sachs has only moments before his aeroplane explodes:

Isaac Sachs:
I am too cowardly to be a hero, but not cowardly enough to behave like a good dog that lies down and rolls over for its master.
I’m too cowardly to be a warrior, but not enough of a coward to lie down and roll over like a good doggy"

Luisa Rey:
You have to do what you cannot not do!
You have to do whatever you can’t not do!
………

Isaac Sachs's flight takes off after he has left a copy of the secret documents concerning the dangerous reactor in Luisa Rey's car. In these moments he thinks to himself:

“Belief, like fear or love, is a force that must be understood, just as we understand the theory of relativity and the principle of uncertainty. Belief is a phenomenon that determines the course of our lives. Yesterday my life was moving in one direction; today it is moving in another. Yesterday I believed I could never do what I did today. These forces, which often alter the variables of time and space, are powers that shape and change what we think about ourselves. They existed long before we were born and will continue long after we die. Our lives and choices can be understood only, like quantum leaps, at the moment in which they occur. Every moment of intersection and encounter—with one another and with new beliefs—is an invitation to the possibility of choosing a new direction in life.”

“Belief, like fear or love, is a force to be understood as we understand the theory of relativity and principals of uncertainty. Phenomena that determine the course of our lives. Yesterday, my life was heading in one direction. Today, it is heading in another. Yesterday I believed I would never have done what I did today. These forces that often remake time and space- that can shape and alter who we imagined ourselves to be- begin long before we are born and continue long after we perish. Our lives and our choices like quantum trajectories are understood moment to moment. At each point of intersection- each encounter- suggests a new potential direction.