Sunday Night Live Focus- June 2, 2002
Remember Who You Are (Rebecca's rough notes)

Life is a Circle
We think in lines. 
Time feels like a line with a beginning, a present and a future. But this is in some ways an illusion. Like James Taylor says “Time isn’t really real." Eternity is a circle- which is a constant present. If we could think in circles might we better understand life?

When thinking about the focus I wanted to do for the last Sunday Night Live, I kept coming back to may favorite topic- the lessons of The Lion King. 
You should expect me to touch on my two favorite movies tonight. Phenomenon will be part of our benediction - and this meditation leaves you with a few thoughts on this wonderful legend of the Lion King. 

They say that myths and legends come from the heart of our group communal psyche. Novels come out of the heart of an individual’s psyche. But these stories, these myths seem to grow right out of the soil and substance of what is human. They testify to our group interpretation of life and its lessons and its truths... and this one is rich with lessons.
 So lets review a bit…

“Remember Who You Are Simba”- We hear this said in the story/movies. But this Simba is a little squirt, all puffed up with his own importance, a little obnoxious or just young… a little too big for his britches. Remember Who You Are, in this instance might mean- Hold on- you WILL be king but for now you are small, inexperienced and have a lot to learn. This Simba blows off his Dad’s advice and is forced to face his reprimands when he strays. You wonder what kind of King he would have made - had life been a straight line, not a circle.

Lessons learned in time- the song Good Riddance says…
Remember Who You Are Simba- This time he is standing beside his dead father. Scar is lurking close by to interpret this disaster to him. In case there is any doubt in young Simba’s mind he tells him, “You killed Mufasa, Simba." And to Simba right then he does not feel like a king, not even like a good son- he is a murderer, a criminal. He is what Scar tells him he is. You remember the incident- Mufasa gets pulled into a stampede trying to save Simba and falls to his death. In fact it is Scar that causes his fall, not Simba, but Simba doesn’t know that- so he believes Scar’s interpretation of the story and runs.

I remember seeing this- (I watch Disney with intensity!)--- but I was ready to crawl out of my seat at this point… To see that kid so messed up with guilt when it really wasnt his fault – (oh indirectly it was- Mufasa wouldnt have been there if not for Simba’s disobedience in the first place)---, but to see him get so derailed -- I remember thinking to myself, yes, there is always a Scar nearby to tell you who you are... and too often when we are young we believe it. 

So, that scene closes and we watch him run away with his tail between his legs into the sunset. I watched him run and in him I could see myself - not to mention hundreds of teenage kids I’ve worked with over the years- derailed by some situation that wasn’t even their doing... or even if it was- was certainly not unforgivable. But they run. I ran. Some of you are still running. 
And the injustice of it all- is so infuriating. Something happens and someone nearby tells you “who you are.” You believe it and all memory of being king, being strong, being hopeful is gone. Remember Who You Are! Indeed. -Well you are what someone tells you you are and that often is not good. The whole scenario seems so unjust and yet it happens again and again in life - and certainly in one’s youth. 

It’s difficult to believe in God when you see injustice like that. We figure it this way- if we were God we wouldn’t have made life so screwed up - so how can there be a God, if God is allowing so much suffering? It’s only logical to assume from the randomness of the pain and injustice we see that there is no one at home in the universe- that we’re on our own and had better fend for ourselves. 

In the east there is much more compliance with pain and suffering as a part of life. On the contrary, in the West we say – “why me? Why is this happening?” - as if life owes us some guarantee. When our “scar incident” comes we want to walk back into the Sears & Roebuck of life and ask for an explanation or at least a refund. In Eastern spirituality the question is posed more like- “why not you?” This is life. There is injustice. Make peace with it and it will teach you- it will give you a gift beyond description. Of course you can spend your life at the refund counter arguing with the universe, but I’ve never seen it get anyone anywhere.

What happened to Simba out there that day is not fair. The death of his dad is bad enough but the fact that Scar was standing nearby to twist his head is completely unfair and while I wanted to jump out of my seat in the theatre I took a deep breath and reminded myself how often this happens in life. It’s not the exception – it’s almost the rule. You can’t get through life with out incident and you can’t get through life without an Uncle Scar to tell you who you are. And so we run into the sunset with our tail between our legs- maybe for a day, for two years, maybe for a life time. 

Remember Who You Are? How can you remember when all you hear in your head are the words of the teacher that told you you were a problem, or the neighbor that sexually abused you, or the SAT score that told you you were average or less than that, or the words of the parent that you could never quite please. 

So you run. He ran to place where he didn’t have to remember anything- what he was nor what he could be. He checked out. Remember Who You Are? He didn’t want to remember that he was a murderer, but he also didn’t want to remember he was a Lion King. He wanted to be someone else, something else. So he ate insects and hung out with Timon and Pumba and it worked. He forgot. 

Do you remember how it is he started to “remember “ who he was?

Well, there is this moment when he is laying underneath the stars (Dave Matthews style) and a distant memory floats back to him of something his father used to tell him and for the first time he lets himself remember it all, the good, the bad, the painful. It’s interesting that what he remembers is not a reprimand or a lecture. It ‘s actually some silly story. 

Then shortly after that night, Nala appears, but she just makes him feel guilty. I don’t believe he would have returned to the Pride Land because of Nala. I’m not sure that kind of guilt-trip gets any of us anywhere….

It is his conversation with Rafiki at dusk one night that brings it all back for him. They say when the student is ready, the teacher appears. I believe that. The time was right. He was coming around the circle. It is Rafiki’s wisdom, both gentle and rough that helps him remember. Remember how he hit him with a stick and told him the past was something to learn from – (like Good Riddance says- a lesson learned in time.) He tells him his father is alive, and takes him to the reflecting pool to show him. Mufasa is a God-symbol. Simba believes he is dead- that he killed him. Likewise we have killed God and any recognition of God in us because of our guilt, our scar. Simba looks and with his first look all he sees is himself, scowling and cynical. But Rafiki says to look again, closer. LOOK AGAIN. 

Look, it’s true, life has plenty of Uncle Scars to tell you who you are, to set you running, but life also has the Rafikis to tell you to look again- to help you remember who you are. How do I know this? Because it has been my experience. And I don't believe life is any kinder to me than you or that God loves me any more than you. 

 Life is a circle. Don't get stuck- keep moving, learning. The only thing you can do wrong is to stop- or camp out in some corner and build monuments to your personal pain and injustice- or crucify yourself with guilt. If you keep moving, learning, becoming, there is this point when you will “remember”- There will be the ‘remembering’ under the night sky, or the words of some Rafiki in your life. Life is resurrection. Life is a circle- don’t get stuck. Some people live their whole lives with the words of Scar in their ears... wearing their guilt like a badge or Scarlett letter. It’s just a part of the circle- I know- cuz I kept moving. I’m still moving... Life is not a square with corners for hiding. Its not even a straight line. You will hear the call again and again in your life to what you are to be. In Rainbow Connection, Kermit sings- “I've heard it too many times to ignore it- its something that I’m supposed to be.” 

 The beauty of the circle, the beauty of this thing called life is that resurrection follows pain, if you let it... 

I think sometimes we take the wrong message from the cross. Follow me here...

 I think the message of the cross is that terrible injustices happen. Jesus Christ being killed? How wrong was that? And you want to talk to me about the injustice or wrong that happened to you? About how bad your child hood was or how this person hurt you, and on and on. Well this man walked around for three years teaching love and acceptance and then they trumped up some bogus reason to kill him. And follow the story- he doesn’t even defend himself. He walks through the whole ordeal with incredible grace and class, even forgiving people along the way, and dies a really cruel painful death. This is injustice. But the story ends with this blast in your face saying... Injustice is there, yes, but so is resurrection. Jesus had a three year speaking tour- not very long really, but the world got turned upside down by what he said. Your ‘scar story’ and mine don’t come close to the injustice Jesus suffered, but because of him and because of all that Nature teaches me, I believe in resurrection, return, and remembering who you are. Resurrection may not happen in the way you want it to. Jesus didn't go on to walk around raise a family and become the king of Israel. It wasn’t that kind of resurrection. But he has lived for 2000+ years. I’d call that real resurrection from the dead... and your resurrection can be as sure as his. But you don't get to write the script.

So back to the Lion King- Simba remembers who he is...boy I love that picture of Simba running across the Savannah. I think about the kind of King he was ready now to be and I find myself comparing that with the squirt kid who knew it all. Life made him a real king and he is ready now. The time is right... the lessons are learned and there are more to learn. 

I guess what I am saying is that I don't believe Simba could have become the Lion King he did without the incident with scar, without running, without wasting a lot of time in Wart Hog World, without eating a paltry diet of insects for a while... Is this how life goes? Is there some mystery here that injustice, pain, or guilt can bring us round full circle and make us kings, if we DONT GET STUCK. 

Like Simba, your life is a circle and one thing leads to another- but you’ve got to keep moving, keep learning. Don’t build a monument to your guilt. Don’t take out a mortgage in Wart Hog World because it hurts too much to remember who you really are. Don’t waste your life whining to the customer service department of the Universe. There are no returns, no refunds. And when the night sky causes you remember, let your self remember. Life is a circle- it will teach you and then call you back again. Sometimes I wonder if the purpose of pain and suffering is to break-in the young Simba in all of us- so ready to be kings, but oh so unready. We think we can control life. But things happen again and again that remind us we can’t. We can’t control our children. We can’t control our parents. Events are random. Death is random. So much is out of our control. Now what are you going to do with that information. Like the song says “I hope you had the time of your life”! Its your choice.... I hope you love every minute of it. That is probably the only thing that is in your control- How you play it... Keep moving, learning, becoming, and you will remember who you are. This is resurrection and return. 

Life is a class- take notes… and don't skip out on the tests or You wont get promoted. The motion of the circle is propelled by the test taking, by the running, the evolving. If you gripe about the injustices with your good American, western mind. and spend your life at the refund counter – you, my friend will stay stuck. 
 

Life is a circle- not a square- not a straight line. 

Listen and you will hear. “Look again”, said Rafiki.
We are in an ALIVE universe, with an active spiritual Being, and no I don't “get” that being- I don’t pretend to. I have felt the love and grace of that being. I should be the Mayor of Wart Hog world. It took me a long time to remember who I was but everyday in some way I felt I was moving through this circle. I felt something pulling me through. No, I don’t think life is random - because I see the circle in my own life. I see the strength that evolves from the scar. I see the beauty that can come from the beast. Explain that to me in the context of an impersonal universe. I’ve seen too much good evolve from pain. 

I believe that whatever God is, God is interactive with us through pain, through lessons, through tests, through guilt, and especially through change. 

Remember Who you are, Simba – “you’re a boy that just cant wait to be king.” 
Remember Who you are, said Uncle Scar, “you are a murderer”
Remember Who you are, said his friends in Wart Hog World – “you are one of us.”
Remember Who you are, said Nala with judgment and disdain.

But one night, laying on his back with his friends looking at the stars in the sky, he started to remember... 
and then went on to meet a funny old wise man who really made no sense, but helped him find the face of his father there in his own reflection in the water hole. “Remember Who you are,” said Mufasa. 
Life is a circle. 
This Simba is ready to be King. 
He remembers who he is.

Look again senior, grad, youth, parent, friend. 
God is in you. You are made of God-stuff.
Right now, you may only hear Scar’s words ringing in your ear. 
But you are Mufasa’s son. 
You are a lion king. 
And for some reason that is beyond my understanding or control- 
it is the pain, the injustice, the suffering, the derailment that leads us to that water hole of understanding. 

Remember Who You Are.