I have a confession. I was afraid to go see the movie War Horse. The odds are high I’m not the only one with those fears.
Do we have the same type of fears about watching a movie about animals as we do with people going to war? Well, we might not prefer that either, but it is easier.
What’s the difference? The part of us that has been abused, restrained or controlled unwillingly relates to the animal. We want to defend the helpless soul and protect it from the same abuse we suffered and were unable to speak of at the time. This thought process is pretty much under cover while we are feeling anger to the ‘abuser’ in a movie, though. We just know it hurts us to see any animal suffer.
There’s more, though, than the part of us that relates to the animal. The other part of it is that we have personally experienced the divine connection with an animal. We have felt our hearts open to animals when it was impossible to do so with people.
We have seen the sacrifices they make for us, mankind and even their abusers to help them grow, heal and love at deeper levels. The unconditional love we receive from them has the ability to teach us how to do the same… and gifts us with the ability to heal our past wounds.
So, I went to see War Horse and, like other horse movies that have moved me emotionally like Seabiscuit and The Horse Whisperer, I found myself relating to the animal. But there is so much more. Whenever we are watching a story play out in fiction or in reality and we find ourselves searching for tissues, this is a gift to our soul which longs to release the sadness of a past experience.
I am consistently blown away by the courage of the animals to endure, heal, and access their inner strength…their light within…to get them through negative experiences. And this is also a mirror of truth for you and me. We will endure because we have the same strength, courage and light within us.
