ATLANTA—When American prisoners of war were released by Vietnamese forces in the early 1970s, U.S. Air Force Colonel Lee Ellis had spent 1,955 days in torturous captivity. Once on home soil, he decided to share what he learned from the grueling experience with aspiring leaders through books and speaking engagements.
He felt the heavenly scenes and divine beings depicted in Shen Yun were “very, very powerful because it causes you to think about who you are, what your purpose is. And how do we deal with life on this earth? With the hope for the future.”
Shen Yun’s storytelling dances depict themes such as the Almighty and the belief in His return to earth. Ellis appreciated this aspect of the performance.
“That rings a bell with me, very much so. I have very strong faith. ... I believe that we’re all created by God. And that we have a purpose here on this earth. And that helps me live the kind of life that I want to live. I aspire to, I don’t always live that well. But I’m trying to,” Ellis said, adding that the overall spiritual aspect of Shen Yun was in line with what he sought in his own life, and so has been very important to him.
Ellis, the author of the award-winning books “Engage with Honor” and “Leading with Honor,” has a mission of taking a stand for honorable values and morals that he sees has declined across areas of society.
In his leadership training, he works with the understanding that everyone is different, and teaches how to manage differences. In Shen Yun, he saw an expression of what is fundamentally common to all people.
“None of us are perfect. We need to live together and build a better world and accept each other that are different,” said Ellis, who has traveled all around the world.
“[Shen Yun] helps us understand others and their history and how their history has impacted them and how it impacts us. But it really shows to me a lot of unity, the unity in the world,” he said.
