Quite recently I watched the film, ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ with my granddaughter and the simple script succeeded in conveying some very relevant and inspiring messages. Mufasa from The Lion King says, “Everything exists together in a delicate balance…we are all connected in the great circle of life”.
Simba, Mufasa’s son, feels his father’s presence through his memories and the stars, symbolizing that true leaders as well as people whom we love, continue to inspire us long after they are gone. As Simba is mourning his father, Rafiki, a male mandrill, shows Simba that the spirit of Mufasa lives within him.
These lessons hit very close to the bone as many of us have been or are in situations wherein we have to come to terms with letting go of a loved one, a parent in this context.
I write from a subjective point of view, and I am sure many amongst us have battled with the conflicting emotions of holding on versus letting go. Seeing a parent in a vulnerable and physically challenged condition is in sharp contrast to our vision of them as being our caregiver who nurtured us through thick and thin. The fine balance of interdependence shifts imperceptibly, and it takes a while to register that, painful as it is. It seems that even in a compromised state of existence, they want us to internalise the acceptance of their physical absence. Hence, they hold on to the fragile thread of life, till we are mentally prepared to let them go; and that is the hardest part. The nagging question of deciding between quality of life and quantity of life, is the dominant factor. On account of our inability to let go, we are willing to use any crutch, to any extent. This is where we are confronted with the most challenging choices, that of exercising “tough love”, and allowing them to leave us when the time comes.
However, there is solace in the knowledge that our parents never really leave us; that they are watchful of us from whatever plane they are on. Their spirit not only guides us but lives on in us. It may be as a memory, a gurgle of laughter, a passage from a book, a season, a taste of a luscious fruit, a favourite recipe, or even your own reflection in a mirror! Sometimes experiencing their presence in this manner is a painful shard that insinuates itself in the void they left within us but mostly their memory exists as a warm and comforting embrace.
