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I would like to recommend a movie I saw recently called, March of the Penguins, produced by Warner Independent Pictures and National Geographic Feature Films.
This movie was a surprise to me, not at all what I was expecting. I was hoping it would be more like Polar Express and I would leave the theatre feeling uplifted and that feeling would stay with me for days. This was a different kind of film. It was beautiful and stunning and I was deeply touched but I couldn’t help but feel the anguish and pain that these grace filled beings suffer every year when they endure the 70 mile - 20 day march to their breeding grounds and the experiences that follow, to give life to the enchanting baby penguins. There were scenes in this film that are burned in my memory forever.
I saw this movie with a friend who was feeling a little down and thinking his life was difficult. After watching this documentary, both of our lives seemed like a piece of cake. I highly recommend this movie. It will make you laugh and it will make you cry. I have been haunted by it ever since. This amazing story has caused me to think deeply about so many things. It has uncovered places deep inside me that cry out for healing and it has reminded me of what is really important in life.
The story, beautifully narrated by Morgan Freeman, opens with the words...“In the harshest place on earth, LOVE finds a way. This is the incredible true story of a family’s journey to bring life into the world.”
And incredible is an understatement. As I watched these tuxedo clad beings leap out of their ocean home to begin their journey, walking upright in single file, I understood the power of clear focus, keeping your mind on the goal and moving forward with fierce determination in a way I had not comprehended it before. I understood too about never giving up. And as they progressed along their perilous journey in the dark and cold and the scenery changed from previous years, and they needed to find their way, I knew the importance of following my own instincts and connecting to my own inner guidance. I appreciated how important it is sometimes to just keep going, even if it means you may have to crawl on your belly for awhile.
After the long, cold and arduous trek to their mating ground, I sat raptured as each penguin attempted to choose a partner, someone especially for them, from a sea of what only appeared to be identical partners, wondering just how and why they made their choice. And then I witnessed what had to be the most tender, delicate, intricate, courtship dance on the planet, intimate, affectionate and stunningly beautiful. Totally enthralled with this ritual, there were moments here where I didn’t know where these beautiful beings ended and I began.
Each female, lucky enough to have found a mate, laid a single egg and that egg was very
carefully transferred to her male partner, to guard and hatch, while the now very weak female begins her journey back the same 70 miles to obtain nourishment again on the ocean floor.
As I later viewed the fathers gently hovering over their new born offspring, the baby chick cradled on top of their feet, I felt their deep love and parental bonding and I experienced the sacredness and importance of sustaining life at all costs. And as I witnessed thousands of penguins huddled together braced against the elements, I realized the importance of sticking together for a common goal and the comfort that a sense of community can bring. Each one took turns on the outside and inside of the circle in order to share the warmer and cooler spots and I saw first hand what integrity and a sense of fair play can mean to the interconnectedness of all living things.
Now desperately needing nourishment of their own, and elated at the safe return of the females, I witnessed each father, with great sadness, getting ready to leave his baby chick and listening for the chick’s song, so that he would recognize him or her, upon his return and I remembered that we are all born with our own unique song in our heart and when we sing that song with love, our true nature is instantly recognizable and our extraordinary life purpose fulfilled.
And later when I listened to one mother penguin cry out in pain over the loss of her chick to the bitter cold, I ached too for my own lost family and understood her grief. As the weather warmed and I saw another mother push her little one out to mix and mingle with the other young penguins, I was transported back to my first day at school when my own mother did the exact same thing to me.
Near the end of the movie I watched in shock as the parents finally walked away and left their young ones behind. In that moment, I felt a strong sense of betrayal, abandonment and fear as my own need to cling to things long after they are over surfaced once again. I was reminded of the importance of letting go and moving on, taking that next step or leap of faith into a brave new world, as these little ones eventually did with their first courageous leap into the sea, their new home for the next four years, until they too would make this remarkable journey.
Until this film, I was not aware of what is involved in the life of a Emperor Penguin as I am unaware of so many other amazing things that happen on our planet. What if, in the media, instead of focusing on the comings and goings of Hollywood’s hottest celebrities, we strive to learn more about the nature of the universe and the wonders of our planet instead. How our lives would be so changed for the better I suspect, if we each did that. I applaud everyone who was involved in bringing this beautiful story to life and I thank you for a job well done.
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