Splendor of Existence from Apostolos Stefanopoulos on Vimeo.
‘Splendor of Existence’ is a movie that aims to engender wonder and inspiration by drifting you through a vast dreamlike sea of tranquility.
Headphones & Full Screen Recommended
Process: acrylic paint, oil, milk, & soap. Four months in the making
Voice Over: Ross Huguet
Music: Our Hope - Stefano Mocini
Producer/Author: Apostolos Stefanopoulos
Edit: Sean Tracy
Shot with Canon 5D Mark iii EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM Lens
Inspired by the beautiful works of various philosophers, physicists, & spiritualists
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“Men admire the mountain heights, the coursing rivers, the orbits of the stars…. and yet neglect themselves. It is forgotten that you are a function of this universe, the enteral thing that comes and goes.
When will you begin to live virtuously? One mustn’t merely flirt with the idea. Yet today we think that those who live as they teach are dreamers.
A person, therefore, must claim his existence whatever it is—ugly or beautiful, wicked or mischievous—that is the beginning of virtue.
After all, what is it that most of us seek? If we strip ourselves of words and phrases, and systems with what are we actually left? Perhaps being, perfect in its shifting transience.
You see, it all lives in the mystery of the present revelation. That is what we live for. The free will, the action, and the creation. The illusion comes when we abstract ourselves from the notion that it is odd that things do exist.
As you cannot step into the same river twice, you cannot live the same moment again. It is the now that matters most. Awaken to the fact that the future is meaningless as is the past. It starts now. Not before. Not after.
Is it not ironic that you are searching for yourself? Yet you have been here like an orphaned child? This strange feeling comes because you have yet to introduce yourself to your life. You cannot spectate, always watching but never engaging. Though, that is how most choose to go about living.
You are human, with all the happiness and sorrow accompanying your fate. But let there be no hang-up, all life is in endless contrast and flux. There is nothing to be fundamentally afraid of.
Possibly, the irreversibility of time awakens you. Death follows you like an omnipresent shade. Fear enters your mind like a dark cloud, but you must see past, that darkness will never triumph over light, always.
For death is but an extension of the self, as are love and happiness. Once the terror of being alone is forsaken, there is nothing to fear at all. We rest our bodies once and live forever. You are undoubtedly embedded in the fabric of the universe.
The instant you can forgive and forget all is the moment you will let the universe be in you, after all, a cup is useful only when it is empty, and a mind that is filled with dogmas is an uncreative mind.
Beyond the physics, the philosophy and the art of living, fundamentally, your interpretation means most. The most beautiful thing of all: the experience that is truly yours forever and ever.
There is a face that you need to wake up to: the universe is your very own, allow the mind to be exposed as is light when seen through a prism. The illusions crumble, reality a sphere and your point of view never center. You are never you, but a constant drama of energy and delight.
Therefore, let it be known that today you stood for something your eyes believed, your heart felt, and your mind understood. Let that be you and say with confidence: I was fortunate to understand what they did not.”
