Learning from Moana

I'm excited as much as my two daughters when we watched Moana, the last animation film from Disney we watched last November.
If my kids are excited with the cute Moana baby (who had some resemblance to Cassandra), me and the rookie mom were anxious if Cassandra can make it through the ending without crying.  But she was brave and finished the movie 'til the end.

​Here are some of the things I learned from the movie:

The saddest part of a man's journey in this world is not dying but rather having not lived.
Both the short film and the movie talked about our individual calling. You hear lines such as "the ocean is calling..."
In life, one of the best things that could happen to a man is when he finds his purpose. In the short film, there was a boy who is caught in the rat race.  Always doing what is  A lot has been said about time management but sadly, managing time is not at fault but rather our laser focus to our purpose.  When we know our reason for living, time won't matter anymore.

Narcissism
Maui's intention of stealing the Heart of Te Fiti was to be able to give everything MAN wants.  Not because he loves humankind, but rather he wants acceptance.  He wanted the applause… the feeling of being depended upon. 
Well, that's a classic example of what we dads, should be mindful of.  Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to do everything for your child?  Like tying her shoelaces, drawing a better stick man or solving her math assignments?  Well, if your kid knows how to do all of these yet you still do it for them, what you're showing is not love but rather you are intoxicated with the feeling of being depended upon.  This leads to the child not learning or being too dependent .
Going back to Maui's story, his insecurity came from his parents not wanting him and giving him away… that giving everything to mankind will give him glory as he's hungry for attention.

Bitterness
When someone steals your heart and use it for his own interest, this leads to bitterness.  As with Tafiti, she became the evil lava monster when she lost her heart.
We become a monster when we give up on love.  The green grass turns into arid lands.  The lush and bountiful forest becomes destroyed by the red hot lava.  Anger. Sadness.

If we fail, we cannot assume our kids will suffer the same fate.
Moana's dad prevented her to explore the sea beyond the reef.  Simply because he lost a friend when he was young while trying to pursue his own dream of going beyond the reef.  Then he trained himself on accepting the status quo.  To be happy where you are…
Well that is good.  To find happiness wherever you are.  But not to the extent of killing your purpose.  Because when you don't pursue your purpose, despite being happy on where you are, your heart will always yearn to where it is called.
As a dad, I had a lot of failures.  Some of them, I wasn't able to overcome.  But I have to be mindful now on not transferring these fears to my kids. Because I want them to be free to pursue their purpose… their dreams… their greatness.

Training
When Maui yields to Moana's desire to be  a good wayfarer, he was able to mentor her well.  Being a mentor means partnering with your trainee to properly understand on how to become great. It also needs a lot of humility both for both the mentor and the mentee. For the mentor, being sensitive to the person you're mentoring knowing that you also started without any knowledge.  For the mentee, having that opened mind that your mentor will be able to fill your learning cup.

​Overall, the movie was great.  Knowing Disney and Pixar, they always try to embed good and inspiring values in their stories.  I have a feeling that my kids' generation are very fortunate as they are exposed to finding their purpose earlier in their lives so they could reach their full potential.