“Lion”
The Oscar nominations are out. The movie "Lion" is one of nine nominated films that is a must see.
The story begins at a small village in India, where 5-year-old Saroo (played by Dev Patel) follows his older brother, Guddu, to work late one evening. Guddu tells Saroo to stay at a train station and wait for his return in a few hours.
After waiting through the night, young Saroo boards a vacant, out-of-service train in search of his older brother and is overcome by sleep. The train travels to Calcutta, where Saroo wakes up to find himself thousands of miles from home, lost and unable to understand the Bengali language.
After a heart-wrenching physical and emotional journey lasting many months, Saroo ends up in an orphanage, from which he is eventually adopted by a loving Australian couple. Young Saroo begins to settle in and carry on with the normal template of life -- learning to speak the language, going to school, making friends and assimilating into a culture that he now calls his own.
Saroo’s emotions have stopped him in his tracks
Yet, 20 years later Saroo finds himself emotionally overwhelmed with flashbacks from his frightening childhood experiences. His emotions have stopped him in his tracks. He can’t concentrate on his studies, his relationships suffer; and, as much as he wants to disassociate from his past life in India, he cannot. And worse, he cannot continue with his present life either. He is emotionally and physically stuck.
Saroo becomes estranged from his adoptive parents, his girlfriend and his friends. He isolates himself because he hasn’t yet figured out how to deal with these repressed emotions that are now surfacing.
Subconsciously, we may fear coming undone.
When we find ourselves full, or at our emotional capacity, it’s difficult to be emotionally available to others. Often we avoid or defend against our feelings, because we don’t want to hurt ourselves or another. Subconsciously, we may fear coming undone. However, when we keep our emotions at bay, we keep life at bay.
What’s needed is to face life and respond creatively. This requires us to develop ourselves, not problem-solve the issue. Essentially, we must unpack our emotions and make meaning of them, so that we may regain a sense of wholeness.
In essence, when we allow ourselves to be troubled, we embark on personal growth and development.
"Lion" is a powerful and inspirational movie about growth and development. It’s a story about the human desire to feel whole and complete. It shows us what’s possible when we choose to test our assumptions rather than be governed by fears and our limiting beliefs.
This true story establishes that when we face life, and ultimately face ourselves, we open up new possibilities that could not be seen before. Facing in, rather than turning away, allows for a transformational shift that ushers in a new sense of freedom and ease, so that we may move forward again.
