Lion King

While we are anxiously anticipating the release of the updated Lion King movie from Disney, let's look back on some of the highlights of this classic tale of loss and identity.

The Lion King was a film that Disney released in the 90s that contributed to one of it's biggest franchises to date. There were TV shows, movie sequels, and a soundtrack that every child to date can sing to from memory.

And while there were a number of people that felt traumatized by the death of Mufasa, one of the biggest take aways from the film was its main theme of finding one's identity.

In many cases, we tend to think that the terms identity and destiny are intertwined, when in fact they could not be more opposite. While a person's destiny is more abstract and out of the person's control, an identity is something that you have to consciously step into and consistently work in maintaining because it involves active choices.

Now that is not to say that we cannot make choices that go against our identity, because we do that all the time. But in not falling in line with our identity, we end up straying onto paths that never quite seem to fulfill our inner callings or dreams.
And we do this because it's the easier choice, it is just plainly easier to do what feels good in the moment or to jump into the bandwagon with everyone else, not wanting to stand out in any way or to draw too much attention to ourselves. We hide who we are by hiding our identity.

We all have the choice to act in a manner that embraces who we are and our identity, but that choice is still ours to make.

So what have you chosen?