The Dawning of a New Era
Happy World Lion Day!
Today is a day to celebrate the beautiful Kings of the Jungle! Well, they don’t actually live in the jungle, so they are Kings of the Grasslands. Shout out to all of the beautiful humans and organizations who help and serve to protect these big cats. Lions are truly a treasure that serves this planet by keeping a healthy balance of other wildlife, which in turn, influence the plants in the grasslands.
As Mufasa says, “Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As King, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.”
Lions are now listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the Red List of Threatened Species. With only 20,000 in the wild, it is vital that we help conserve lions now before it is too late. There are many places where you can help by donating to support these amazing organizations.
I have always felt a connection with lions growing up. Not sure if it’s because I’m a Leo, or that I watched The Lion King a million times! I can just about recite the entire movie. I still have a sketch that I created while watching the original on VHS, where I would watch it and then quickly hit the pause button a few time to get the exact frame I wanted to draw. And yes, I am old enough to have grown up with the Video Home System, haha! I probably do not need to mention it, but this was my favorite movie growing up.
With the new release of ‘The Lion King’ this year, there was no way I wasn’t going to go and enjoy it in theaters. I decided that my 30th birthday would be the perfect opportunity. I wanted to watch this beautiful and highly anticipated movie. I didn’t expect it to bring back so many joyous memories from my childhood. I had chills throughout the film; I was immersed for just about every moment of this film. It was truly an amazing experience for me. While it brought back all these amazing memories, it also triggered some Ah-Ha moments. The sort of thing you do not expect from a revival of your favorite childhood moments. I have talked about depression and some of the ways I’ve been slowing pulling myself out of this dark hole, and there are a few quotes from this movie that brought me some light.
“Remember who you are” -Mufasa
With my mind always wanting to get stuck on the bad or unpleasant memories in the past, I need to remember who I was before those experiences. I am still here, and I am still me. No matter the event, good or bad, help build your character, but sometimes we seem to get lost and have trouble getting back to who we truly are.
“The past can hurt, but from the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.” -Rafiki
Remember, you are continuously growing and learning. We have all been through some sort of heartache, pain, or tragedy in our lives and there will be more to come, but we have to learn from the events in our lives and move forward to create the next chapter.
“Out of the ashes of this tragedy, we shall rise to greet the dawning of a new era.” -Scar
While watching The Lion King at a young age, I was enthralled with the colors and animals on the screen, not necessarily understanding the life lessons that were being taught. I feel like the remake of The Lion King was made just for me! I know it wasn’t, but that’s what I’m telling myself. At this stage in my life, when I needed something big, something great, to help pull me out of the darkness, I became immersed in that theatre screen as soon as the first note hit and that sun started to rise!
This may seem silly, but this film couldn’t have come out at a better time in my life.
Take one day at a time and be grateful to be YOU!
Kortney Beth
Life is Art, Start Creating!