This past week I passed by a lululemon store and noticed their reusable shopping bag had the quote “Who is John Galt?” printed onto the side. This brought back a flood of memories about the source of that question and its impression that it has had on my life. Ayn Rand’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’ is a one of two novels she wrote that had a part in shaping who I am now. It is no surprise to discover that Chip Wilson has inducted the novel to his staff’s reading library. After re-awaking my memories of ‘Atlas Shrugged’ yesterday I discovered that one of the most impressionable novels from my teenage years had been made into a feature film. It totally slid in under the radar for me. Ayn Rand’s ‘Atlas Shrugged’ Part 1 is now in theaters and will be made into a trilogy.

I read ‘Atlas Shrugged’ when I was 19 and one of they key concepts from the novel that absorbed into my matrix was when ‘Atlas’ is found carrying the world upon his shoulders what should he do? The novel suggests the only sensible thing for Atlas to do is to shrug the weighted world off of his shoulders. This teaching has been useful through out my life as I am a person that practices compassionate action and often find myself in situations where I give more than I receive and end up depleted. Some times the best way to be of help or expression of compassion is to not ‘help’ at all. When the demands of others don’t meet what you know to be right or in line with your path to carry forth with these demands will take away from your responsibilities, to shrug these demands off from your obligations may be the only sensible thing to do. Another key concept I absorbed from her novels was to remain objective in conflict. I don’t find Ayn Rand’s philosophy to be absolute and infact I disagree with certain ideals though these concepts I find to be of value.

Though the novel was written in 1957 the film was set in 2016 and relevant to our times. I would recommend the film if you don’t have the time to read the novel, it is enjoyable even if you are not a fan of Ayn Rand. Part one introduces the mystery of John Galt but if you want to know who exactly he is you will have to wait for the rest of the trilogy or give ‘Atlas Shrugged’ a read, the mystery surrounding this character is a fun exploration.