Kung Fu Panda 2

In light of the fourth chapter getting ready to hit the big screen, the Kung Fu Panda team decided to show all their previous movies in theaters. Having not seen the second one, I decided to treat myself to a matinee of one of the greatest animation franchises of all time. Now, before I get started, yes, I should have seen it earlier. Yes, how dare I make it to 27 years old without seeing this movie. Spare me your harsh comments, they fall on deaf ears. 

Anyway, the movie picks up with Po, our now-Dragon warrior, as he finds out that the goose isn’t his real dad (still my favorite part of the whole movie.) He finds out that he arrived in a radish basket one day and no one knows where he came from. This sends Po on a journey to learn the truth about his past and who he truly is. He goes on this journey as he goes up against a peacock named Shen, who seeks to take over all of China. Overall, the movie is solid with a good mix of comedy, depth and action to keep it fresh from start to finish. My only gripe is how they often break the good serious moments with a sudden punchline. Maybe I’m just a serious guy, but sometimes I wish they would just let the moment play out. But that’s more of a personal preference than an actual complaint.

But it got me thinking about this question that we all ask ourselves from time to time: who am I? I can rapid-fire a list of answers to this question without giving it much thought. I’m a man, I’m a 27-year-old, I’m a computer technician, I’m a proud American, the list goes on for days. But these things don’t feel like they fit the bill. It doesn’t feel like any one of those things truly answers the question. What is it we are truly asking ourselves when we feel this question burning inside of us? Why does it feel like it’s the right question to ask, but not the right question to answer? What’s the missing piece of this puzzle?

As I pondered these things, an observation came to mind: all these things that I say that I am seem like places I have arrived at. Take a second look at the list I just wrote. They are all things that I already have. I have arrived at 27 years old, I have gotten the computer technician job, I already have the American Passport. These are things that are already in my basket. But I think the thing we are really asking ourselves is who am I becoming? What am I hungry for?  What road am I marching down and do I want to be going there? And what from my past is keeping me from getting there? I think these are the questions we are actually asking ourselves when that yearning starts churning within us. I believe this is where we are when we ask ourselves “who am I?”I think the first question to ask yourself as well is “where am I?” Are you lost in the desert or out at sea? Are you hungry in the crowded city? What does your life feel like right now? I know, for me, I often feel like I’m out in the middle of the Sahara with no food or water in sight. Every blessing feels like a little oasis like the one Aladdin stops at in the Disney movie (the animation, not the new one.) But lately I have been seeing that I need to learn how to look a little closer. I need to see the blessings all around me. I have been playing with how much I can make of the ground I have been planted in, rather than expecting to stumble on ideal circumstances.

And once you have realized exactly where you feel like you are, another question naturally follows: is this where I want to be? Are all the decisions I’m making and the things that I’m doing leading me to where I want to be? You may be reading this and thinking “well, duh,” but it may not be something that everyone is asking themselves regularly. Dream your dreams of where you’d like to be and figure out what steps it would take to get there. If you want to be rich, it may be a good first step to start fighting your way out of debt. If you want to have friends, you may need to actually get out of the house from time to time (to all my introverted friends, I just shivered too. Relax, just breathe.) Are you doing anything to bridge that gap between where you are and where you want to be?And what you’ll find is that you do, in fact, have the power to change your life. It may take wisdom, it may take guidance, but the power is there. I’m not saying you can learn to have control over everything, everywhere at all times, but you can have a say in the matter. And even when you think you don’t, you can always get up and go elsewhere. You have full control over one thing: yourself. Letting this fact sink in is a game-changer. I can guarantee, the more you realize this, the more inner peace you will find. 

And that leads me to the point the movie tries to make: you have to learn to process the past and put it properly behind you. As Po wrestles with his past, he eventually learns the truth and accepts it. If you don’t properly grieve your own past, you will carry it into your future. I can’t count how many times I have tried to walk off a past hurt, desperately trying to replace it with something else. Like how I try to replace people. Sometimes, someone fills a particular spot in your life that no one else can replace. Be it a partner, friend or even parent, no one can tap in for the person that stepped out of the ring. You have to take a moment to come to a complete stop and say “this person left a hole that I can’t fully fill. I can learn new skills and become a wiser person, but nothing will ever replace them fully.” And as you grieve, you will see that doing so is like placing the past gently in a box and laying it to rest in a cozy back corner of the closet. You lay it to rest, never to clutter the house of your life for the things you want to use it for: joyful living. 

Dang, all this from a “kid’s” movie! I guess wisdom truly can come from anywhere! I hope this has benefitted you in some way and that you join me in answering these questions: where am I, do I want to be here, and what’s holding me back? Take some time to chew on this. The answers might not all come at once, but start by figuring out what your first step is. What do you need to do to be able to answer the question: who am I?

Until next time

Cheers!