All language subtitles for The Story Of Us With Morgan Freeman.S01E03.The Power Of Love

*

MORGAN: Abbey Road, London.

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 25, 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 the summer of love.

I was working at a little
theater in Vermont when I
heard it and like 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 oppression.

It's easy, right?

It seems naïve now.

But stop and think for a
minute about how our lives
are built around love.

Families and our communities.

Is it really naïve
to think that love
can change the world?

What happens when
we don't have love?

Why these children
rocking back and forth?

IZIDOR: Because children
were never held as infants.

MORGAN: Why are we willing
to suffer for love?

Even die for it.

WILL: What happens
on those battlefields forges
something that truly cannot

be repeated anywhere else.

MORGAN: Should passion
be left to fate?

HINA: Is it really meant to
just be chance that you meet
someone that you're meant to

spend the rest of
your life with?

MORGAN: And can
love reach everyone?

JOSHUA: It's a way of making
someone feel like that there's
someone out there who cares.

(theme music plays)

MORGAN: This is my journey to
discover the ties that bind us

and the common
humanity inside us.

This is The Story of Us.

**

I'm in Southern California
to meet Izidor Ruckel.

Izidor 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, he can't move
it any more."

The doctor said "He'd
have to stay here for a
couple of weeks."

Once my parents left me
there they never came back.

At the age of three years old
I was put in the hospital for
the irrecoverable children and

grew up there until
I was 11 years old.

MORGAN: In the 24 years
that Nicholai Ceausescu
ruled Romania many children

shared Izidor's fate.

Ceausescu 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 over
crowded state orphanages.

So Izi, you spent
eight years growing up

in an orphanage.

What was that like?

-There are moments
where you wonder am
I gonna survive this?

None of us were taken outside.

-No sunlight?
-No sunlight.

-Looking around at where
we are, playground,
the trees, the grass.

-We did not have
anything like this.

-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.

-I mean even the
building from the outside
looks intimidating.

-When you walk into the
building you smell nothing
but soaked urine and feces.

-Oh my goodness gracious.

About how many kids can you
think lived in that orphanage?

-It would be about
400, 500 children.

-400 or 500 children and
not nearly enough people
to look after them.

-No.

-Why are these children
rocking back and forth?

-Because children were never
held as infants and they were
developing ways to nurture

themselves and rocking back
and forth was one of the ways.

-You experienced this?

-I experienced it,
I used to rock back and
forth for a long time and

I grew out of that eventually.

-Who is that kid?
-That was me.

That was me in 1990.

I had more opportunity
than others.

I had a worker named
Onesha 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.

Onesha 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.

OK, I wanna take him home too.

And from there it just
gradually grew till 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
for 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
boys name, Ciprian.

Izidor and Ciprian, come here.

You're going to America.

-Just like that?

-Just like that and
we were shocked.

So they put us in a
nurses office and I asked
who's gonna be my Mom?

And Marlys said
"I'm gonna be your Mom" and
I said then that's what I

want my Mom to be.

-So your parents are here?

-Yes, Mom and Dad,
come right in.

-Good morning, Danny.
-Good morning.
-I am Marlys.

-How do you do?

You've got your own kids,
you've got three lovely
children that you're

gonna bring this...

-Mutt.

-Mutt into...

-All five of us
really wanted him.

I thought he was the
most charming thing.

-Pretty much hooked?

-Yes.
-Okay.

At first life in America was
new and exciting for Izidor.

He went to school, played
sports and experienced
something he'd never had before,

a family
that loved him.

But then things
start to go wrong?

They 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.

-Did you have any clue why?

-I don't know, it
didn't make sense to me.

I mean, 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 cuddling 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 are
mentally affected.

MORGAN: By the time Izidor
turned 16 his rejection
of his adoptive family

reached a boiling point.

He moved out of the house,
severed all ties with them.

But then when he was 18,
he learned that Marlys and
his adoptive sisters were

in a serious car accident.

-I was so devastated
and I was very scared that
I was gonna lose them.

I had done so much
damage in the family that
I didn't think I was gonna be

accepted or even talked to.

They opened the door and
I apologized from then.

-I remember, still
to this day, he told
us that he loved us.

And I'm not sure that
we'd ever heard that.

-But that was a
turn around for him.

-The beginning.
-I wasn't willing to give up.

He's my son.

Whether he's my flesh
and blood didn't matter.

I refused to give up.

-Once that I saw that
they were able to forgive
me, at that moment I made

like a covenant with myself.

I did not want to
lose them again.

-Right, so now what?

-We're still doing
the same thing.

We have five more children,
we've adopted them.

-Gluttons for punishment huh?

And you, what are you doing?

-I'm advocating for several
things because I definitely
don't wanna see children,

not only in Romania,
but anywhere 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 that.

I do realize that.

It took me a while, but...

-Now you do.

When I was a little
boy I had all this.

Trees, grass, sound of birds.

I had a loving family.

It is heartbreaking to learn
what Izidor and so many
young Romanian children had

to live through.

Izidor himself was lucky.

He had his nursemaids
and his adoptive parents.

Now he dedicates
himself to helping other
orphans, securing for them

something that was as vital
to their wellbeing as
food and shelter, love.

All of us
need to receive love.

But giving love often
requires sacrifice.

Many parents stop
putting themselves first.

They sacrifice 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.

I'm traveling
to a remote region of
Southern Ethiopia to visit a

village of the Hamar Tribe.

Anthropologist
Dr. Samuel Tefera,

who has lived with the Hamar,

tells me they will be
happy to show me the pain
they endure for love.

Is this an village,
tell me how old is it?

DR TEFERA: It
has been here for two,
three, four centuries.

-So they're pastoral?

-Yes, they have goats, they
have cows, they have sheep.

-Cause I was gonna ask if
I could get eggs Benedict
here, but I guess not huh?

-Yeah, no.
-Okay.

The Hamar in this
village are all members
of an extended family.

Those tight family bonds
are vital to their survival
in this dry and rugged land.

I hear this sort of
joyous sound going on.

-We are about to witness
an age-old ceremony.

Men of the Hamar
jump over the bulls.

It's a right of transition
from a childhood
through adulthood.

-Oh, ok.

-And then that makes
them eligible to marry.

-That makes them
eligible to marry?

-Yeah.

MORGAN: The Hamar have
invited us to witness their

traditional bull
jumping ceremony.

Samuel tells me
most of the days events aren't
focused on the young man who's

coming of age, but
on his female relatives.

MORGAN: A crucial part of
the ceremony is the display
of love the women make

for the young boy.

This is abuse.

(whip cracking)

MORGAN: The Hamar people
have been holding coming of
age ceremonies for

young men, here on the
banks of the Omo River,
for hundreds of years.

A central part of
the event is his female
relatives being whipped.

I've heard of other painful
ritual practices often
directed against women,

but something about
this seems different.

-They choose?
-They choose to do it yeah.

-Hard for me to fathom because
I don't understand why the
woman wants to get whipped.

MORGAN: Samuel explains that
these women know the boys who
are coming of age will make

sacrifices and face
dangers herding cattle in
Ethiopia's rugged landscape.

Being whipped is
their way of declaring that
they are willing to endure

hardship as well.

But this is all so shocking,

that I want to
ask the women directly
why they are doing this.

I've been watching for
a good while and I see
women getting whipped.

It seems painful and cruel.

Why do you do it?

(speaking in native language).

-For them to feel
like it's jumping they
have to be whipped.

-OK.

-And they cannot
separate the two.

MORGAN: Fresh cuts laid
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 cattle.
-These are the cattle.

-And a young man is gonna
come and they will jump
over a bunch of them?

-Yeah he's going to jump.

Very young.

-Yeah very young.

-OK, so they don't move?

-What happens if he falls?

MORGAN: The young men 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.

-This is number four.

-Yeah, he's coming
back for number five.

-Now he has become a big man.

-How many cows
could you jump over?

-I probably could make
it over one, maybe.

The strength of the
Hamar women is remarkable.

They manage to take something
painful and turn it into
something that empowers them.

The 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 and parent and child.

It's the basic glue that
holds humankind together.

The bonds of the
family are cemented by this
form of sacrificial love,

but they are also built
on another type of love.

The passion that
strikes two people.

Antony and Cleopatra, Tristan
and Isolde, Romeo and Juliet.

These romantic tales are the
epitome of how we view love.

To paraphrase William
Shakespeare, 'Love is a fire,
sparkling in lovers eyes.'

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 Hina Belitz whose

Pakistani heritage presented
her with the choice between
both forms of marriage.

How do you do?

HINA: Very well, thank you.

Come on, come,
come on in.

-Tell me about your
family background?

-Well, I was brought up in
Andover in 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 anyone of a similar
cultural background to us.

-What about schooling?

Did you go to college?

-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.

-How short?
-A year.
-Yeah that's a shorty.

-Yeah I discovered that
actually he'd been unfaithful.

-OK, so that means divorce?

-It did, yes.

So I threw myself into
my career and I worked
very hard 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 have made
some sort of change.

-I think that's
absolutely right.

MORGAN: After a failed first
marriage, Hina felt the urge
to get reacquainted with her

Pakistani routes.

-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."

But, then the penny dropped
quite quickly that my family
were effectively trying to

introduce me to a
possible suitable match,
an arranged marriage.

-What was your
thinking about the idea
of arranged marriages?

-Well 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 foreign?

-Yes it's foreign,
it's a bit backward.

Why would I think about
marrying someone in this way?

But that's OK, 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 chap.

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
then looking at him like this.

But what happened was I
flew back to the UK and
literally a 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
Kameron and Hina.

Can you ask her
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?

So there was conflict
in my own mind because of
course, I'd only met Kam

for about half
an hour to an hour.

-Then what?

-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.

MORGAN: Hina Belitz agreed to
marry a man whom she had only
met once, for half an hour.

-Yeah.

MORGAN: Who lived more
than 4000 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 virtually
no time at all that we were
married, over the telephone,

via a telephone
Nikah ceremony.

A Nikah ceremony is a
wedding ceremony which is
like the actual wedding,

since it's sort of at
the point of commitment.

-So you're on a telephone...
-On 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 full
ceremony in Pakistan.

-It worked out wonderfully.

I can honestly say I believe
I've found my soul mate.

Would you like to meet him?

-Yeah of course.

Hello Kameron.

-Hi Morgan, nice to meet you.

-How are you?
-I'm fine.

-So did you know you
were being set up?

-No, not at all.

My Father, he said
"Kameron what do you think
about the girl you saw?"

and I said "Wow"

(laughter)

and I said I
wish that she'll be my wife.

-So how long have
you been together?

-15 years.
-15 years.
-Yeah.

We have an eight and
a ten 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 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
see arranged marriages
and they last long.

They're a 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.

-OK.

So how wrong would I be
if I said yours is not
an arranged 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.

-Do you think love
has to be learned?

-There is something
powerful about going into
a relationship with 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 do look properly
matched, to me.

I mean I can certainly
see how it could come
about between you two.

It looks right, feels right.

(sniffing)

Even smells right.

So long guys.

-Thank you.

-It never occurred to me
that an arranged marriage
could be the foundation of

a loving relationship.

Not to Hina either.

But, she and Kam have
built upon the expectations
placed on their match

by their families.

It built a bond that is
founded on both passion
and practicality.

-Bye!
-Bye-bye.

-And they're raising a
couple of wonderful boys.

Love has so many forms.

It's passionate, it's
painful, it's nurtured.

Love binds people together,
even when love is the
last thing on their minds.

I'm meeting Army Major
William Swenson, who received
the Medal of Honor for

his bravery in Afghanistan.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Will Swenson
was there for his brothers.

He was there for us all.

MORGAN: The story of how
he risked his life for
his brothers in arms is

a true story of love.

-Brothers in arms.

What does that
term mean to you?

WILL: 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 US Army, US Air
Force and the US Navy assets
all participating in a joint

operation to help pacify a
troubled part of our region.

We were all 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 were gonna

get there, together.

MORGAN: On September 8th
2009, Major Swenson, Sergeant
Westbrook and their Afghan

border patrol unit, were
tasked with escorting a
contingent from the Afghan

Army and the US Marines.

They were headed to
a meeting of elders in
the village of Ganjgal.

-But this was not a mission
that intended on being combat.

We were there to
support that operation.

-OK, so what happened?

-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 gradually escalated
into a significant amount of
direct, accurate, lethal fire.

MORGAN: Major William Swenson
had set out on a mission to
help Afghani soldiers broker a

peace deal with tribal elders
in the village of Ganjgal.

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.

-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 that we could

come back and
fight another day.

MORGAN: Major Swenson
repeatedly entered the kill
zone to rescue wounded and

fallen US and
Afghani soldiers.

But he wasn't alone
in his efforts.

-Sergeant First Class
Westbrook was providing
supporting fire, heroically,

and he was wounded.

And he called out to me "Will,
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, just checking to
make sure he was OK.

And he was.

And he provided covering 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.

Again, I had not at this point
understood the severity of it.

We'll watch this together.

This helicopter crew was
under fire at this time.

For them to land it,
a helicopter full of fuel,
in that area is testament to

their bravery as well.

-Who's that?

-This is me.

The dust you see
is providing some level of
protection from direct fire.

You can see here, that's
Sergeant First Class
Westbrook coming up.

The bullet had
destroyed his shoulder.

Significant internal
damage and bleeding.

At this point he'd
lost so much blood that
it was difficult for him

to maintain consciousness.

This is Sergeant First
Class Westbrook walking,
on his own two feet,

off that battle field
after him 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 as love?

-It does qualify as love.

The people you serve
with, the people you
go to conflict with,

the people that you
have an experience and that
intensity, forges friendships.

It forges 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 creates
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 him?

-Sergeant Westbrook had
the opportunity to go home.

He didn't want to, he wanted
to stay and 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.

He would have returned 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.

Tough talking
about it isn't it.

Thank you.

The courage that Major
Swenson showed on that
fateful day is inspiring.

But, what strikes me most is
that kiss and what it reveals.

It's not romantic, no.

It's a kiss of fellowship.

A profound bond with someone
you have no blood ties with.

How can we ever have
moved beyond small tribes
without that bond?

Our cities, our entire
nations could not exist...

without love.

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?

MORGAN: Across Europe
and North America there are
nearly five million homeless.

Some of us are moved to help
these people through charity.

You could call charities,
organizations built from love.

In the US 63 million
volunteers donated eight
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 to those in need?

I'm in London
to meet Joshua Coombes.

He's a hairdresser and
he believes small acts of
love can make a big impact.

JOSHUA: How you doing?

-I'm doing good.

Good to see you.

-It's lovely to meet you,
great to meet you.

-Yeah what uh...

-What am I doing
with this stool?

-Yeah.
-I'm gonna show you.
-OK.

-So I'm gonna take
you around Peckham.

MORGAN: Peckham was once
one of London's most down
trodden neighborhoods.

Today it's in transition.

On the same block you
can find trendy coffee shops,
street gangs and the homeless.

-I'm gonna talk to
this guy, down here.

-OK.

-Just a sec.

MORGAN: Joshua hopes he can
help the homeless, not by
offering them money or food.

But by giving them a haircut.

-OK Stewart, when was the
last time you had a haircut?

-In November last year.

-December, January, February.

-Five months ago.

-March, April.

How do you come to
be homeless Stewart?

-I broke my hip and they
stopped my benefits.

And at the time I was
like, I was stupid and I
was getting involved with

drugs and things.

I didn't really care and
next thing I know, you know,
they came round and said

"Right, you're out".

That was the 24th January 2016
and I've been homeless since.

It's another world
on the streets.

You can't go home anymore.

And now you're alone.

-Well I came close
once, in 1962.

Couldn't pay my rent and
I had four roommates.

But 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 shoulder and thinking
now where am I gonna go?

-Where abouts was that?
-San Francisco.
-San Francisco.

-Luckily I had friends.

Somebody who took me in.

-A lot of people look
at you and think it's
your fault you're there.

You deserve it.

You've done something wrong.

It wasn't my case, I
mean it just built up.

-Mmm, how long you
been doing this Josh?

-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
feeling of helplessness.

Of how can I affect a
problem that seemed so big?

How do I even begin to
start, from that feeling of
helplessness came like I had

to start with one person.

And just talking to
one person, finding
out about them,

I think that makes
you feel empowered to
make bigger changes.

-It's a bit more than giving a
haircut or getting a haircut.

-Yeah.

Yeah exactly, right.

Just because we're not
related, I feel like there's
got to be that support for the

people who don't have
that and, look I know a
hair cuts not a big thing,

I know it's not gonna 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.

You know, even if that
is a stranger, right?

-Yeah.

-This is it, it's
just coming off.

-I've got a chin
under there I think.

Probably got two or three.

-OK are you ready to say
goodbye to this mustache?

It's gone.

It's going, going gone.

-Well I must say
Stewart, you look human.

-Oh thank you.

I must say, with you
saying "Stewart", saying
my name and talking to me

and I recognize your voice.

-Oh do you now?

Do you have a
special sleeping place
or do you whatever you?

-I do, yes,
in Convent Garden.

-Ah OK.

-It's a doorway that I've
slept in a few months now.

The security don't bother me.

-On the street, your
day-to-day, what would
you say love means to you?

-Usually it hits me,
like the first person to
say "Good morning" to me.

You know I'll be lying
there, I'm just undoing
my sleeping bag,

just climbing out and somebody
walks past and says "Morning"
and you're like whoa, lovely.

But when you don't hear a
good morning from anybody,
it's like nobody cares.

-Another big reason
for doing 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 part of this, to try
and inspire other people.

So we've created
a social media movement
#dosomethingfornothing.

And people are using this
hashtag in different places
to perform good will acts.

You know, so it's not
just about hairdressing.

-So Stewart, I'm thinking
now what's got Josh here
with you, is his sense

of love thy neighbor.

Do something for
someone, for nothing.

What do you think about that?

-There'd be a lot more done.

-Wouldn't there.

Yeah.

-Yeah man and final touch.

We're ready.

I think you're ready.

-Yeah, there you are, bet
you don't recognize this guy.

-I don't yeah.

-In five, four...

three, two, one,

Ta-dah!

-Jesus, I look
20 years younger!

-Yeah, Stewart what we said.
-Nobody's gonna recognize me.

-Mate, you're a
new man right now.

-Yeah, thank you.

-How do you feel?
-Like a new man.
-Like a new man.

-Do you recognize
yourself there?

-Um, yes, I used to look
like that once, when
I was a lot younger.

-Alright, so what 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 the city doing
good stuff like that.

-Thank you, means
a lot, really does.

-Thank you.

Stewart.

It's really terrific
what Josh is doing.

-I'm gonna see you again soon.

-Thanks.

MORGAN: Joshua doesn't
expect these small acts of
kindness to end homelessness.

But he hopes the 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 for another person.

I don't care if it's
a family member or your
friend or a total stranger.

Imagine what a transformation
it would make in this world.

*

Love is the most
powerful force we know.

Back when we all lived
in small tribes it 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.

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