The Power of Love with Morgan Freeman (Full Episode) | The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman

foreign London [Music] five decades ago four young men made this street famous all around the world and just a few steps up the street there on June 25th 1967 they performed a song live by satellite to an audience of almost half a billion people that song was all you need is love it was a Summer of Love I was working at a little theater in Vermont when I heard it I hadn't liked so many young people everywhere we were swept up by the sense of hope that love was all you needed to end War poverty and depression it's easy right seems naive now let's stop and think for a minute about how our lives are built around love families in our communities is it really naive to think that love can change the world what happens when we don't have love why these children rocking back and forth because children were never held as infants why are we willing to suffer for love even die for it what happens on those battlefields Forge is something that truly cannot be repeated anywhere else should passion be left to fate is it really meant to just be charms that you meet someone that you're meant to spend the rest of your life with and can love reach everyone it's a way of making someone feel like there's someone out there who cares [Music] this is my journey to discover the ties that bind us manifest is the story of us [Music] I'm in Southern California to meet Isadora Ruckel is a dog grew up in a Romanian orphanage and didn't experience the love most of us take for granted the love of a parent you were born in Romania that is correct but you wound up in an orphanage at an early age I did my parents took me to a hospital to be treated for my flu or cold the doctor gave me an injection and instead of the needles being sterilized and disinfected it was used Time After Time on children after children and I contracted polio so my parents said what on Earth did you do to his leg his leg is dead can't move it anymore the doctor said he'd have to stay here for a couple of weeks the ones my parents left me there they never came back at the age of three years old Iris put in the hospital for the irrecoverable children and grew up there until I was 11 years old in the 24 years that Nikolai ciao ruled Romania many children shared isador's fate Josh has to decreed that every family must have at least five children or pay an extreme tax penalty if you couldn't afford to feed five children often the only option was to give some of them to one of Romania's overcrowded State orphanages so Izzy you spent eight years growing up in orphanage what was that like there are moments where you wonder am I going to survive this none of us were taken outside no sunlight no sunlight looking around at where we are playground to trees to Grass we do not have anything like nothing close to it no I wanted to show you this video so you could actually see it for yourself what my life in the institution was in Romania thank you [Music] hmm I mean even the building from the outside looks intimidating when you walk into the building it smells nothing but soaked urine and fecing [Music] my goodness gracious about how many kids can you think in that alternate it would be about 400 500 children 500 children and not nearly enough people to look after them why these children rocking back and forth because children will never help as infants and they were developing ways to nurture themselves and walking back and forth was one of the ways you experienced it I experienced I used to walk back and forth for a long time and I grew out of the out of that eventually who was that kid that was me that was me in 1990 I had more opportunity than others I had a worker named omisha and I actually still have her picture and um I will never forget this woman she was one of the most amazing workers that worked there onisha took me home for one night I forgot about the institution my experience at home was the greatest gift she cared for me like I was her son from that moment on other workers saw my potential okay I want to take him home too from there it just gradually moved so I went home with almost the entire staff that worked there it's because of them that I learned how to love how to have compassion how to care how to have sympathy I mean I had never done that before I never could have hugged someone did you see this happen with any other kids no I was very fortunate and lucky and because of their love I believe I was able to grow and develop a lot better than others so how did you get out of this orphanage these workers called out my name and another boy's name ciprian Isidor and chiprian come here you're going to America just like that just like them and we were shocked so they put us in a nurse's office and I asked who's going to be my mom and Marla said I'm going to be your mom and I said then that's why I want my mom to be so your parents are here yes Mom and Dad come right in good morning Daniel morning I am marlus how do you do you got your own kids yeah you got three lovely children that you gonna bring this mud into all five of us really wanted him I thought he was the most Charming thing yes okay at first life in America was new and exciting for Isidore School playing sports and experienced something he'd never had before a family that loved him but then things start to go wrong they got to start to go bad I wasn't used to the family I didn't care for them they were not my family and they were nothing I hated them all the bitterness I held it in and when I exploded I took it out on them because they were the closest to me there are times where I was so out of hand the police had to come over you have any clue why I don't know it didn't make sense to me I mean I don't I couldn't understand it I think there were just some attachment issues as a result of you know growing up without you know someone coddling him and hugging him and loving on him when a child grows and develops they need to be nurtured cared and loved without it they were mentally affected by the time is the door turned 16 his rejection of his adoptive family reached a boiling point he moved out of the house seven old ties with them but then when he was 18 he learned that marlus and his adoptive sisters were in a serious car accident [Music] ever so devastated and I was very secure that I was going to lose them I had done so much damage in the family that I didn't think I was going to be accepted or even talked to all right they opened the door and I apologized from them I remember still to this day he told us that he loved us and uh I'm not sure that we'd ever ever heard that but that was a turnaround for him the beginning yeah I wasn't willing to give up he's my son I whether he's My Flesh and Blood it didn't matter Andrew refused to give up once I said that they were able to forgive me at that moment I made it like a covenant with myself I did not want to lose them again all right so now what we're still doing the same thing we have five more children we've adopted them quite punishment huh and you what are you doing I'm advocating for several things because I definitely don't want to see children not only in Romania but anyone in the world to endure what we endured I think that the greatest gift of all was being adopted and be able to have the best family I have to admit them wow I do realize that took me a while but hey now you do [Music] when I was a little boy I had all this trees grass sound of birds had a loving family it is heartbreaking to learn what is a door and so many young Romanian children had to live through Isidore himself was lucky he had his nursemaids and his adopted parents now he dedicates himself to helping other orphans securing for them something that was his vital to their well-being as food and shelter blood [Music] all of us need to receive love but giving love often requires sacrifice many parents stop putting themselves first they sacrificed their careers work second jobs or give up their social lives to care for their children in some cases the sacrifices we make for love cause physical pain and leave lasting scars thank you I'm traveling to a remote region of Southern Ethiopia to visit the village of the hammer tribe Anthropologist Dr Samuel defara who has lived with the Hammond tells me they will be happy to show me the pain they endure for love is this an old related tell me how old is it she has been here for two three four centuries so they're pastoral yes they have goats they have cows they have sheep because I was going to ask if I could get eggs benedict here but I guess not huh yeah I know okay [Music] Village are all members of an extended family those tight family bonds are vital to their survival in this dry and rugged land it is sort of joyous sound going on we are about weakness jump over the boots with the right of transition from a childhood to adult oh okay and then that makes them eligible to marry [Music] the hammer have invited us to witness that traditional Bowl jumping ceremony Samuel tells me most of the day's events aren't focused on the young man who's coming of age but on his female relatives [Music] the guy was going to live and singing dancing spreading the family a crucial part of the ceremony is the display of love that women make for the young boy this is abuse yeah [Music] the hammer people have been holding Coming of Age Ceremonies for young men here on the banks of the homo River for hundreds of years a central part of the event is his female relatives being quick I've heard of other painful ritual practices often directed against women but something about this seems different foreign [Music] make sure to do it yeah hard for me to Fathom because I don't understand why the woman wants to get to it but from their own perspective they are doing it to show and to express their love no matter what comes all no matter what happened to love her brother so this is the kind of return for the love that we have for her Tamil explains that these women know the boys who are coming of age will make sacrifices and face dangers hurting cattle and Ethiopia drug Advanced being whipped is their way of declaring that they are willing to endure hardship as well but this is also shocking that I want to ask the women directly why they are doing this [Music] I've been watching for a good while and I see women getting whipped it seems painful and cruel why do you do it when your brother lives or when you honking lips then you have to get whipped for them to feel like he's jumping they have to be whipped Fresh Cuts lay down on top of old scars serve as proof of the women's love for the Bull jumper it's time now for him to show his bravery these are the capitals and the young man is going to come jump over a bunch of them yeah he's going to jump he's very young yeah very young the Rippers will be lining them up around there and then once they are lined up they will hold tight their horns and their tents okay so they don't move right so that they don't move and then the boys [Music] yeah he's doing it what happens if he falls the young man must run over the cattle at least four times to complete his transition to adulthood the more runs he makes the more of a man he is in the eyes of his extended family here's the number four [Music] [Applause] he wants to read more yeah he's coming back for number five [Music] thank you now we'll become a big man how many cows could you jump over I probably could make it over one Maybe the strength of the ham and women is remarkable and managed to take something painful and turn it into something that empowers them scars that they carry are like a signature on a contract that says we are bound by love strikes me that Human Society may not have made it without this kind of love between siblings Aaron and child it's the basic clue that holds him when cotton together the bonds of family are cemented by this form of sacrificial love but they are also built on another type of love passion that strikes two people Anthony and Cleopatra piston and the sword Romeo and Juliet these romantic Tales are the epitome of how we do love to paraphrase William Shakespeare love is a fire sparkling in love designs but I wonder if romantic love alone is enough to sustain a marriage only recently and mostly only in developed countries has marriage based on passionate love between strangers replaced marriages arranged by families as the norm I'm on my way to Hertfordshire England to meet lawyer Hannah Bellis whose Pakistani Heritage presented her with a choice between both poems of marriage tell me about your family background well I was brought up in Andover and Hampshire although I was actually born in Pakistan so you grew up here in the UK yes it was completely all white all English and so we grew up secluded from any one of a similar cultural background to us all I did and I met someone at University were you married yes it was what you would conventionally call a love marriage it was all very idyllic for a short while oh sure a year yeah that's that's shorty yeah I discovered that actually had been um unfaithful so that means divorce it did yes so I threw myself into my career and I and I worked very hard um and became a successful attorney life in the city as a single girl was actually quite a lonely experience even though I had so many friends I knew that there was something Hollow and empty and missing in my life and it wasn't very easy for me with the experience that I had been through to easily just trust another and I had a sort of instinct that I knew I wouldn't find it just by bumping into someone in the local supermarket you had to meet some sort of change I think that's absolutely right after a failed first marriage Hina felt the urge to get reacquainted with her Pakistani roots I then had a very good job opportunity arise so I took that opportunity to take a break between jobs and take some proper time out so I decided to go to Pakistan and meet my grandmother after a few days of arriving I noticed that when we went out to a restaurant that a strange man would appear and just be shuffled over to sit next to me and at first I was unsure as to what the reason was and then my grandmother would sort of come over and nudge me afterwards and say what did you think of him and I'm like oh it'd be nice if he could actually string a sentence together that's then the penny dropped quite quickly that my family were effectively trying to introduce me to a possible suitable match an arranged marriage what would you have thinking about the idea of arranged marriages well it was it was strange I felt very much that I was a western woman that had been brought up in the UK and this was all just not for me this is not something kind of boring yes it's foreign it's a bit backward why would I think about marrying someone in this way but that's okay I'll I'll humor you all for a bit I'll sort of go along with it how many persons do you think your grandmother paraded before you there were about four or five as I recall and then just as we were about to leave it was probably the day before there was another trap and he was very different extremely Charming had a wonderful smile good looking I noticed from across the room my grandmother looking at me she had these long slim dark eyes and she was looking at me and looking at him like this but what happened was I flew back to the UK and literally the day after I arrived my mother got a phone call from my grandmother who said I'd like to propose a match a marriage match between Cameron and Hina can you ask her if if that's something that she would be interested in proceeding with on the one hand I thought dive in jump off the cliff and have a go on the other hand I was thinking what's gone wrong with you that you're considering this they're the most conflict in my own mind because of course I'd only met cam for about half an hour to an hour well I think I had a bit of an epiphany when I was out there because I realized it may be culturally different to something that I had been brought up around but maybe it wasn't a bad thing maybe there was something that it had to offer I actually said yes I would like to proceed and I was thinking you're crazy [Music] agreed to marry a man whom she had only met once for half an hour yeah who lived more than 4 000 miles away from her home outside London she chose to trust the opinion of her Pakistani family rather than simply rely on the spark of passion it was literally no time at all that we were married over the telephone by a telephone Nikka ceremony a nickel ceremony is a wedding ceremony which is like the actual wedding so this is sort of at the point of commitment do you own a telephone he's in Pakistan yes and you're here in the UK that's right and you're married now we're technically married but afterwards I went for a proper fall ceremony in in Pakistan [Music] foreign it worked out wonderfully I honestly say I believe I've found my soulmate would you like to meet him yeah of course hello Cameron how are you I'm fine so did you know you're being set up no no not at all yeah yeah my father he said come what do you think about the girl of you saw and a while [Laughter] [Music] and I said I wish it she'll be my wife so how long have you been together 15 years 15 years yeah we have an eight and a 10 year old now two beautiful sons so maybe it's a good thing to have a family involved in such a momentous decision I think you're right I think part of the reason why there are so many website dating applications this is because there isn't an easy access to people is it really meant to just be chance that you meet someone that you're meant to spend the rest of your life with do we really want to leave that purely to a chance meeting at a party in Pakistan you always say arranged marriages and they last long the blessing from parents I had a lot more confidence and Trust because I knew that my family was involved and so there was a lot more comfort that I had okay so how how wrong would I be I said yours is not in a Range to marriage yours is a marriage by consent the core of the difference is simply that when a marriage is arranged it is arranged because the objective is to introduce two people for the purposes of getting married rather than for the purposes of going out and having fun there are such things as forced marriages anyone being compelled to marry someone they don't want to is completely wrong an arrangement should be by choice ultimately we think love has to be learned there is something powerful about going into a relationship with a clear expectations on either side and clear hopes and desires on either side and not having those aspects clouded by the more superficial feelings there's a possibility I think that that could lead to a longer term more lasting more fulfilling relationship you too look properly matched to me I mean I can certainly see how it could come about between you two looks right feels right even spells right it's a long guys thank you it had never occurred to me that an arranged marriage could be the foundation of a loving relationship not tahina but she and cam have built upon the expectations placed on their match by their families it built a bond that is founded on both passion and practicality [Music] and there isn't a couple of wonderful boys [Music] love has so many forms it's passionate it's painful [Music] it's nurtured love binds people together even when love is the last thing on their minds [Music] I'm meeting Army Major William Swenson who received the Medal of Honor for his bravery in Afghanistan will Swenson was there for his brothers he was there for us all the story of how he risked his life for his brothers in arms is a true story of love [Applause] [Music] Brothers in Arms what does that term mean to you it's a term that's always defined our relationship to one another in the military friendship a family that's forged whether it's basic training or whether it's an experience that was forged in war now you were in Afghanistan that's correct we had U.S army U.S Air Force and U.S Navy assets all participating in the joint operation to help pacify a troubled part of our region collectively working with respective Afghan partners Sergeant First Class Kenneth Westbrook and I were working with our Afghan border patrol Sergeant Westbrook was in effect my right hand man Sergeant Westbrook is a friend of yours we had not known each other prior to this deployment we got to know each other very well I could rely on him we were very different in every way however we ultimately saw that we had an objective a goal and that we are going to get there together on September 8 2009 major Swenson Sergeant Westbrook and their Afghan border patrol Unit were tasked with escorting a contingent from the Afghan Army and the U.S Marines they were headed to a meeting of Elders in the village of ganjugal but this was not a mission that intended on being combat we were there to support that operation okay so whatever you pick your battles but sometimes your battles pick you the mission came under Fire that's correct we never entered the village before we were fired upon and it rapidly escalated into a significant amount of direct accurate lethal fire [Music] major William Swenson had set out on a mission to help afghanist soldiers broker a peace deal with tribal Elders in the village of ganjika thank you all of a sudden the mission came under attack and they were surrounded by as many as 60 Insurgent Fighters he and his entire Unit were battling to save their own lives we had received at least four of our first casualties within the first five minutes this battle extended over six hours and over these six hours we had a number of heroic Acts that occurred across that Battlefield we were firmly committed to one goal extracting our survivors recovering our wounded and dead and getting off that Battlefield so we could come back and fight another day major Swenson repeatedly entered the Kill Zone to rescue wounded and Fallen U.S and Afghani soldiers he wasn't alone in his efforts starting first class Westbrook was providing supporting fire heroically and he was wounded and he called out to me well I'm hit and he didn't tell me how badly wounded he was he never indicated how significant his injuries were but they were grave and I was watching him I was checking to make sure he was okay and he was and he provided cover and Fire for who knows how long before he finally said I'm losing it I need help over here and I knew he was serious and I went over to him and he and I began to extract off the battlefield and he on his own two feet walked hundreds of yards hundreds of yards through complex Terrain but again I had not at this point understood the severity of it push this together this helicopter crew was Under Fire at this time for them to land a helicopter full of fuel in that areas Testament to their bravery as well this is the desk you see is providing some level of protection from direct fire you hear that Sergeant First Class Westboro coming out the bullet had destroyed his shoulder internal damage and bleeding at this point he'd lost so much blood that it was difficult for him to maintain cautiousness this is from Sergeant First Class Westbrook walking I was on two feet off that Battlefield after doing his job at that point told him he'd done his job it's time to go home and I gave him a kiss on the head your brother in arms you gave a kiss on the head would you agree it qualifies This Love this qualifies love the people you serve with the people you go to conflict with the people that you haven't experienced in that intensity forges friendships it forages bonds it forges something that truly cannot be repeated anywhere else what happens on those battlefields what happens amongst our service members in those situations create something that really cannot be described it can be seen it can be witnessed but it really has to be felt it's powerful and it extends Beyond just the soldier just that sailor that Marine it extends to even their families you feel like you've forged a new family a new Bond so Sergeant Westbrook was rather severely wounded but not mortally right what happened to her Sergeant Westbrook had the opportunity to go home he didn't want to he wanted to stay keep fighting he got to go home he got to see his family unfortunately as a result of complications he passed away a month later back in the United States with his family by his side so out of all of that he died This Is War it's not fair [Music] he would return to that Battlefield if he could have he would have returned right by my side and he and I would have continued our mission but he gave everything for what he loved for what he believed in and I take some solace in knowing that he got home yeah talking about it isn't it thank you [Music] the coverage that made to Swenson showed on that fateful day is inspiring but what strikes me most is that kiss what it reveals it's not romantic no no it's a kiss of Fellowship a profound bond with someone you have no blood dies with how could we ever have moved Beyond small tribes without that Bond how cities our entire nations could not exist Without Love has built our world but not everyone receives the love they need around us there are people who are excluded who feel invisible to the rest of society can we help bring them back simply by offering them love [Music] across Europe and North America there are nearly 5 million homeless some of us are moved to help these people through charity you could code Charities organizations built from Love in the U.S 63 million volunteers donated 8 billion hours to homelessness and other causes in 2016. but suffering persists all the same I wonder if there's a better way to show love for those in need I'm in London to meet Joshua Coombs he's a hairdresser and he believes small acts of love can make a big impact how you doing I'm doing good good to see you great to meet you what uh what am I doing with this store I'm going to show you okay so um I'm gonna take you around Packham was once one of London's most downtrodden neighborhoods today it's in transition on the same block you can find trendy coffee shops street gangs and the homeless I'm going to talk to this guy down here quickly okay just a sec Joshua hopes he can help the homeless not by offering them money or food but by giving them a haircut okay still when was the last time you had a haircut in November last year December January February five months March April how do you come to be homeless George I broke my hip and they shocked my benefits and at the time I was like how stupid they was getting involved with drugs and things I didn't really care and the next thing I remember you know they came and I said write you out that was the 24th of January 2016 and I've been homeless since there's another world on the street he can't go home anymore you know you're alone well I came close once in 1962 to couldn't pay my rent and I had I had four roommates but uh I couldn't pay my rent for a couple of months and they said well you gotta go I had my duffel bag on my shoulders I'm thinking now where am I gonna go whereabouts was that San Francisco San Francisco luckily I had friends somebody took me in a lot of people look at you they think you know it's your faultier then did you serve it you've done something wrong yeah it wasn't my case I mean it's built up um how long you been doing this John for a couple of years now so what got you started I think it was feeling a bit helpless really if I'm honest like it came from a field of helplessness of how can I affect a problem that seems so big how do I begin to stop from that feeling of helplessness came like I had to start one person just talking to one person finding out about them and I think that makes you feel empowered to make bigger changes a bit more than giving a haircut or getting a haircut yeah exactly right just because we're not related I feel like there's got to be those support for the people who don't have that and um but I know a haircut's not a big thing I know it's not going to change somebody's world but for me it's just a way of spending time with someone it's a way of making someone hopefully feel like there's someone out there who cares even if that is a stranger right so yeah this is it about it's just coming off I've got a free number there I think I've got two okay you ready to say goodbye to this mustache it's gone it's going going gone well I must say okay look human but I'm a fake who do you think Stuart you say my name you're talking to me and I recognize your voice you know it's like oh do you now do you have a special sleeping place okay if you go away that I've slept in a few months now the Security's unboxing me on the street your day today what would you say love means to you [Music] I'm uh I'm doing my sleeping bag just climbing that and somebody walked myself morning wow lovely but when you don't hear a good morning from anything yeah another big reason to do this when people walk past and they see someone helping another person I think it's infectious it ripples you know and I think that's that's part of this to try and Inspire other people so we've created a social media movement hashtag do something for nothing and people are using this hashtag in different places to perform Goodwill acts you know so it's not just about hedges so let's do it I'm thinking now what's got Josh here with you is his sense of Love Thy Neighbor do something or someone for nothing what do you think about that could be a lot more dumb yeah yeah man and Final Touch we ready I think there you are thank you but you don't recognize this guy I don't yeah in five four three two one ta-da 20 years younger okay yeah it's true you're a new man right now thank you how do you feel like a new man like a new man yeah do you recognize yourself then um yeah yeah I used to do a lot of money I was a lot younger all right so but I want to say to the both of you is thank you very much thank you very much thank you quite a new experience someone like you walking around in the city doing good stuff like that thank you that's really nice let's do it thank you it's really terrific what Josh is doing we're gonna see you again soon thanks Joshua doesn't expect these small acts of kindness to end homelessness but he hopes to love he shows people will boost their self-esteem and may help them rebuild their lives just imagine if each of us took five minutes out of your day to do something loving to another person I don't care if it's a family member or your friend or a total stranger imagine what a transformation we could make in this world love is the most powerful force we know back when we all lived in small tribes that kept our extended families together but it has grown into so much more than that today love can reach all the way around the world it is endlessly adaptable surprising and healing it has the power to inspire us to push our society forward I still believe love can change the world like I did in 1967 we just have to remember there's nothing we can do that can't be done with love foreign [Music]

Channel: National Geographic

Views: 153,238

Keywords: national geographic, nat geo, natgeo, animals, wildlife, science, explore, discover, survival, nature, culture, documentary, perpetual planet nat geo, photography, full episodes, Morgan Freeman, Species, Global Quest, Primal Force, The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman, Binding Together, Love changing the World, The Power of Love with Morgan Freeman, Love, Quest, The Story of Us, The Power of Love, Exploring videos, the story of god, story of god morgan freeman

Id: opDIbWMVIXk

Length: 47min 27sec (2847 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 15 2023