Just the other week I was guided to watch the movie "Mary Poppins" after many years of not having watched it. I was informed by a good friend that it was one that she recommends to those who attend her courses. It was a movie that I had not watched for a long time for what I took to be a very good reason.
16 years ago I was lying in a hospital in the children's ward after having just come down from the intensive care unit. This was one of the more "serious" times in my life as it had been very nearly fatal and my abdominals were in intense pain with a brand new scar reaching from the top of the sternum down to my navel ( with a convenient circumnavigation around the belly button) after I had ruptured my intestines ( I will spare the gory details). I was not having much fun, let me tell you.
Remember, this was the children's ward and I was one of the elder children there and had almost been admitted to the adult ward, had it not been for my disapproval of this suggestion.
Those of you with young kids in your life may be fully aware of the desire of kids to watch the same movie over and over again. Well, Mary Poppins was the movie of choice for this particular ward and before I had entered, was one that I could enjoy from time to time. The first time is a charm, and twice reveals more of the details. 4 weeks later it does not feel like quite so much of a charm. I reached the point where I refused to watch the movie since, until I was absolutely certain that I did not remember any of it.
Fast forward to the weeks just gone by. Here I was presented with this directive by my friend to reacquaint myself with Mary and her friends. Well, as the universe loves synchroncity, the very next day I was visiting an aunt who had a DVD copy of the movie. I borrowed it.
I watched the movie, and was surprised that indeed I had forgotten most of the movie. I was inspired to look a little deeper into the message than I had done before. There is the music, that pretty much throughout the whole movie, is upbeat and singable. The message did not lie just in the music but the plot that played throughout.
One of the characters in the movie, Mr Banks, is quite a serious chap, as they would say in England. Everything in his life was done on a very regimented schedule, that challenged his two young children and Mary Poppins. Throughout the course of the movie we are enlightened to the fact that Mary Poppins' purpose is to bring awareness to an adult audience, of the lighter side of life. To shift how she feels in the moment, she creates the word "super-cali-fragil-istic-espi-ali-docious", a word that it is difficult to muddle through without bringing a smile to your face. What do you use to lighten those more serious moments in your life?
So, we watch throughout this movie, as Mr Banks transforms in a moment brought about by the childlike playfulness of Mary Poppins and his own two children. Enjoy life, that is the premise they introduce, and Mr Banks learns to let go and do so, at a moment when is laid off from work. Singing "Spoonful of Sugar" makes the arduous task of cleaning their room, a whole lot more joyful for the kids during the movie. In fact, the state change that Mr Banks experienced created a totally different result at his work place and brought a glint of joy to the uptight community that he is part of.
What a great message for all of us to carry forward in life. Mary, a fully grown adult, just likes to play and have fun, as well as getting the work done. In our organisation, Agents of Change, we love to have fun whilst all the while making sure that everything moves forward and gets done to bring more of the message to the world. I have met many Mr Banks' in my time who continue to believe that life must be serious, but more seems to get done when I am surrounded by the Mary Poppins' of the world. We are experiencing exciting times in our world with promise for a brighter future, if we can only see the serious challenges with a more youthful eye. Another movie to see is WarDance if you wish to see the joy that children bring even in the times of war.
So here I was, watching this movie and loving the message that was coming through. A movie that I had laid aside for such a long time. All the while that I was resenting the overplaying of that movie during my times of pain, I was being programmed repetitively with a very powerful movies about spiritual enlightenment
message. It is always interesting to me how the higher powers guide us at times of our "darkest" moments and show us that really this is a life to enjoy, no matter what appears to be going on on the outside. We just have to be willing to listen. Listening in the moment will make it that much easier. It took me 16 years to hear what Mary was truly saying.
So, upon reflection, it would seem that the playing of this movie throughout my hospital stay was more than likely a powerful medicine for myself. What I find most interesting is that spirit guided me to watch this movie on the eve of the anniversary of the incident that put me in hospital in the first place, 16 years ago. I might not have remembered were it not for a conversation with my mother the following day. Now, as I move forward in my life it reveals more of that powerful time in my life that has truly guided me on the path that I am on now.
I believe that we are always being guided in our times of darkness and I hope this story brings a little light to your world. No matter how serious things appear, we can always lighten up the situation. 5 years from now, you will probably be laughing about that "serious" episode in your life, so why not start now. Be playful at work. Be playful at school. Be playful in life. Watch what begins to manifest when you live from this childlike place of joy. Watch what powerful and empowering progress is made in the world in and around you.