'ion king

I have to admit, I miss the good ole days when our family used to go to the movie theatre to watch the latest Disney animated movie.  All of our children have grown up, so the only time that I watch Disney movies anymore is when one of my patients in the hospital is watching one on their room television.  I think I have just about watched all of Moana in small parts this way. 

One of my favorite movies was The Lion King, which came out in 1994 (the movie is now officially old enough that Disney is apparently planning a remake for release in theatres in 2019).  Our oldest child absolutely loved the movie.  The original "Lion King" (there have been at least two sequels that I am aware of, but I also know about the Broadway musical and the animated television series on the Disney Channel) came out when he was about 2 years old, so it was really the first movie that we saw with him in the theatre.  He could never say the movie correctly, so to us it was always just "the ion king" movie.

I happened to come across the movie on television the other day while flipping through channels on a slow call day on a Saturday afternoon at the hospital.  One of my favorite scenes was playing.  Simba, now grown, runs into the shaman baboon, Rafiki.  Simba has just learned from his childhood friend (and soon to be love interest), Nala, that his uncle Scar has taken over Pride Rock.  He is walking around at night, when he runs into Rafiki chanting "Asante sana! Squash banana!" Rafiki then shows Simba a vision of his father (a great scene) and then talks to Simba again.  The rest of the scene goes something like this:

Rafiki: Well, what are you going to do?

Simba: I'm not sure.  But, going back means I'll have to face my past.  I've been running from it for so long...

{Rafiki smacks Simba on the head with his staff}

Simba {rubbing his head}: Oww!  Jeez - what was that for?

Rafiki: It doesn't matter.  It's in the past {laughing}

Simba {still rubbing his head}: Yeah, but it still hurts.

Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt.  But the way I see it, you can either run from it...or...learn from it.

{Rafiki swings at Simba with his staff again.  This time Simba ducks.}

Rafiki: Hah!  You see?  So what are you going to do?

Simba goes back to Pride Rock, defeats Scar and the hyenas, takes his rightful spot as the one true King, and the rest, as they say, is history.

When you think about it, Rafiki makes a very good point.  The past can be hard.  But you can either learn from it (and get better), or run from it (which gets you nowhere).  Which will you choose?