ANIMATED TRUTH

 As fantastic as it might sound, we live in a world where the intangible governs the tangible and where the immaterial holds sway over the material. A fact emphasized by the good book which tells us that the things which are seen were made out of things which are not seen and that God calls those things which be not as though they are. We do not see atoms or cells with the naked eye. The forces of gravity, love and radioactivity are not visible but we see their effects. We cannot visualize the human spirit or the soul but they constitute the real man while the body is just a container albeit a very good looking one sometimes.

Due to my love for animation, I have had different labels stuck on my character over the years; some people call me a big kid while I have seen others wonder at my supposedly puerile fascination and juvenile tendencies. Others feel I have been stuck in the sticky web of an infantile fancy. But I usually laugh inwardly because they are the ones missing the big picture. Lot of times as strange as fiction might be, it is as concrete as truth. Fantasies are one of the greatest life coaching instruments we have around us. They contain truth that needs to be distilled from an imaginary world into reality in our minds.

One of the highest grossing cartoons from DreamWorks is Kung fu Panda and it’s a flick that inundates one with so much insight. It triggers a fusillade of questions aimed at the target board of life. The answers to these queries are intricately connected to our destinies like wool to worsted suits.

The first time we see Po, the Kung fu Panda in the movie, he was dreaming that he was engaged in a fight with the quintet of Kung fu masters aiding him. This dream was a pointer to his destiny.

·        WHAT DO YOU CONSTANTLY DREAM ABOUT?

His father was a goose who could never fathom what his son’s life was about, not surprising though since a goose can never father a bear.  The Panda’s dad almost killed his dream. A father would impact your dreams and ultimately your future.

·        WHO IS YOUR FATHER (PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL)?

Po was working in a noodle shop while his passion and destiny was in the kung fu palace. Even though his father’s noodle shop was bustling with customers and doing good business, the guy was perpetually miserable. Any job that is not in alignment with your passion irrespective of how great the benefits might be is a noodle shop.

·        DO YOU WORK IN A NOODLE SHOP OR IN THE KUNGFU PALACE OF YOUR DREAMS?

The bear might have been bumbling and clumsy but he knew kung fu, he was at home with kung fu, he was an encyclopedia of kung fu. When he got to the secret hall of warriors, he practically knew the history of everything in it. He ate, drank, and slept kung fu.

·        WHAT DO YOU KNOW? WHAT IS YOUR PASSION? WHAT FILLS YOUR THOUGHTS?

He was a good cook but he did not allow that to cloud his passion. He wanted more, something within him was crying out for something better. His whole life was yearning for a different path.

·        DO YOU KNOW THAT THE FACT THAT YOU CAN DO ONE THING WELL DOESN’T MEAN IT IS YOUR PATH TO DESTINY?

The panda was totally in love with the kung fu masters. The people we rate very highly sometimes shed some light on the path of our destinies.

·        WHO DO YOU STRONGLY ADMIRE?  WHO ARE YOUR MENTORS?

He used his culinary prowess to make friends with the furious five. It’s the gift of a man that makes room for him.

·        WHAT ARE YOU USING YOUR GIFTS FOR? ARE YOU STRONGLY OPTIMIZING THEM?

He made fun of himself and his inadequacies; he was humorous about life, even when he was constantly dissed.

·        ARE YOU TOO SERIOUS ABOUT THE JOURNEY OF LIFE? WHEN DID YOU LAUGH LAST?

Despite the gruel training he went through, he never gave up. He kept coming back for more.

·        ARE YOU PUGNACIOUSLY TENACIOUS?

Po did not have the claws, speed, venom or traits of the kung fu masters but he was still special, he had his own peculiar endowments.

·        DO YOU KNOW DESPITE THE FACT THAT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE THE GIFTS OF OTHER PEOPLE, YOU ARE STILL VERY UNIQUE?

When the panda landed in the arena and was about to be made the Dragon warrior, Shifu said it was an accident but the tortoise master Oogway said there are no accidents.

·        DO YOU KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THEM THAT LOVE GOD? DO YOU KNOW THAT THE EVENTS OF YOUR LIFE ARE DIVINELY ORCHESTRATED?

His love for food helped him to overcome the odds while training. This went a long way in helping him become the Dragon master.

·        DO YOU KNOW THAT THE THINGS WE LOVE USUALLY GO HAND IN HAND WITH OUR PASSION TO HELP US FORGE OUR PATH INTO DESTINY?

He developed a peculiar pattern of fighting due to his love for food. This was why he was able to beat Tai Lung.

·        DO YOU HAVE YOUR OWN DIFFERENT STYLE OF DOING THINGS? THIS IS WHAT WILL DIFFERENTIATE YOU FROM THE MASTERS!

There was no secret formula in the dragon scroll which is said to have the secret to limitless power neither was there a secret ingredient in the noodle soup. His father told him that to make something special, you just have to believe it is special. All you need to succeed is already in you, within you is limitless power. Like Oogway told Shifu, all you need to do is believe.

·        WHAT, WHO DO YOU BELIEVE? DO YOU BELIEVE IN YOURSELF?

Oogway also told Master Shifu, that for the peach seed to defeat the evil snow leopard, the seed would have to be nurtured and given direction.

·        ARE YOU NUTURING YOUR GIFTS? DO YOU SEEK DIRECTION FROM THE ALL-KNOWER?

The story of Kung fu panda was set in the Valley of Peace, a fictional place in China. You see life is supposed to be a valley of peace with mankind living in unity and in love but there will always be Tai Lungs, evil snow leopards of bad leadership, poverty, diseases, wars and so on that will be hell bent on shattering the fragile peace of our world like it were a Ming vase knocked over by captain caveman’s club. If you answer these questions correctly, then you would become a savior of our world even where others have failed.

It doesn’t matter whether you look like it or not, you might seem to be a bumbling, clumsy, clueless panda but there is a Dragon warrior in you crying for expression.  And that is the bottom line my friends.