Hakuna Matata: Why You May Need To Worry Too

Introduction:

Welcome my friend,

Today we round up last week's conversation with its second part “Why You May Need To Worry (Part) ‘Too’”.

If we recall, we discussed the story of Simba in the classic, Lion King, pointing out lessons in this fictional story as they relate to our own real life.

Yet if we need some kind of refresher, we can revisit it here (https://whereweareone.beehiiv.com/p/hakuna-matata-why-we-may-need-to-worry) so that we are reminded of whatever we might have forgotten that could be relevant for better understanding.

Good to be back here with you my friend.

How have you been?

Discussion:

From where we stopped last week we saw how Simba, a lion with the responsibility of leading his people and kingdom out from the cruel rule of his uncle Scar, chose to remain exiled instead.

We also saw how the new friends he made Timon, a meerkat and Pumbaa, a warthog taught him the line “Hakuna Matata” which means “No worries”, a phrase they used to relax, with no care whatsoever in the world.

Better still, a phrase they used to forget their responsibilities.

Of course, this was good for them; after all, they weren't lions, neither did they have many responsibilities nor other animals suffering because they “refused to worry”.

Which wasn't the same for Simba who had a whole kingdom waiting for him.

So, as we continue our story today, we'd be looking to understand how this loss of our own identity can be enough to cost us the fulfillment of our purpose.

So that until we regain our identity, we may never truly grasp the significance of our responsibilities.

■ Brokenness And Revisiting The Inner Child

In continuing with our story, we'd begin from the part where Nala, Simba's betrothed lioness, arrives in a far away land in search of food.

Scar, their greedy uncle and king had impoverished their kingdom, bringing in the rebel hyenas to take over.

It was a difficult rule, one that meant she had to come all that far for survival.

She must have been thinking, “if only Simba were to be here for his kingdom”

Yet, there he was playing with Timon and Pumbaa when she appeared to prey on them for food as every normal lion would.

Which leads to a big fight between her and Simba fighting in defense of his new friends.

In the course of it, they somehow recognize themselves having not seen each other since they were cubs.

"…Scar has taken over with the hyenas, you need to take your place as king" she says.

His friends are bemused, they can't imagine him as king, after all they've all been hanging out together all this time; and he's barely behaved like one.

Simba agrees with them, he didn't think he was worthy of his place, he's been away so long that he had lost his identity.

He now thought himself to be no more responsible for anything else than a meerkat or warthog, in this his new life.

Nala walks away in disappointment, feeling betrayed.

This wasn't the Simba she used to know; all his courage to dare dream has been replaced by the fear and timidity of shame and guilt.

The one she thought would save them, actually needed saving himself.

So how does this relate to us?

Truth is, there's this void that still remains until we're truly happy and fulfilled, living out the life of our purpose.

In the absence of this, nothing else can sincerely satisfy, no matter how much pleasure we derive from it.

It can only be enough, because regardless of how many times we say “hakuna matata” we're indeed worried because we know deep within us that we can do more.

This was what happened to Simba and still happens with us, even to this day.

Nala's words “you're more than you've become” broke him because he knew it was true.

The same way we're broken when something happens that causes us to revisit our inner child reminding us that we've traded the king in us for a place in the table of meerkats and warthogs.

One day, something comes up, most times probably not as dramatic as meeting a betrothed, but something very significant or not, yet it awakens us, reminding us of who we are and our responsibility to take our place in the circle of life.

So that we can use our talents, gifts, abilities or skills to meet the needs of the world around us being useful to more people.

When we get this overwhelmingly unsettling urge to challenge ourselves to change, push to the limits or transform ourselves as a way of restoring our place, let us not ashamedly push it aside because we feel unworthy.

Most importantly, let us not be surrounded by friends who are bemused by the thought of who we truly are and what we can be because they don't think we have it in us.

Those that can't see the king in us probably because we were not too confident to show it, trading our true identity for their acceptance.

Instead let it be amidst those that see our true value and worth because they know who we were and what we used to be before we lost faith in ourselves. .

Those that cause us to reconnect with our inner child, stirring us into a higher level of self awareness in the process.

■ Healing And Reconciling With The Inner Child

Once we become conscious and uncomfortable with our situation, surroundings and everything else that isn't aligned with who we really are, life begins to conspire to bring us the change we desperately need.

We see this happening as we continue our story.

Now, the encounter with Nala and disappointing her has left Simba dissatisfied with the life he's created for himself so that he wants something to change.

He remembers that he's still the same cub that was trained and prepared his whole life to be king up until when he ran away.

He knows he's more, he knows he can be more.

His yearning for purpose has replaced “no worries” causing him to “now worry” for his place, people and kingdom.

Yet he wasn't ready to deal with his past or heal from it.

Which is where life comes in to help us, conspiring to direct us on the path that leads us back home.

For Simba, life sent Old Rafiki, the monkey and priest his way.

In this encounter, the monkey takes Simba to the river where he sees a reflection of himself in the water.

He realizes that he's grown into a fierce lion and a striking resemblance of his father Mufasa.

Which of course restores his courage, confidence and self belief.

“I am Simba, son of Mufasa” he declared, now ready to go home and take his place.

Indeed, this shows us that to really move ahead, we must confront our past in order to deal with it, so that we can let go.

By this we mean letting go of the shame and guilt that comes with years of many trials and failures or the judgment that accompanies the realization that we've played a role in wasting our life by spending our time in distractions.

Once we accept this failure, it means that we're now ready to make a fresh start having wholeheartedly accepted to change everything that hasn't worked out.

This is what reconciling with our inner child entails.

Here, this reconciliation gives us the strength and determination we need for this new journey, as we once again begin to move with our newly restored childlike innocence and confidence.

This is what healing and maturity is about.

■ Restoration And Fulfillment 

Simba in the company of his two friends Timon and Pumbaa head back home to reclaim his throne.

Their friendship with him has now drawn these two animals into a life of more responsibilities than they were normally used to.

So that although they weren't kings themselves, they were close to one up the point of going to war to fight alongside him, risking their lives.

Indeed, this shows us that there's a role for everyone to play once the consciousness of being responsible is awakened in them by the light we once refused to shine.

The same friends that he wallowed in distractions with, were now warriors in this fight of his destiny simply because he found the courage to initiate it.

Many times the people we play around with have the missing piece of our puzzle but we never find out because we only converge to engage in empty talk and frivolities.

Never really discussing how we can collaborate to share ideas or do business for the growth of both the individual and the collective.

This is something that we need to change if we're serious about our growth.

In fighting alongside his friends, Simba defeated his uncle's army of hyenas before killing him to reclaim his throne.

This is the restoration and fulfillment that comes from taking our rightful position in our place of purpose.

■ Role Of The Divine

The contribution of Old Rafiki the priest is crucial because that encounter with him transformed Simba, to a point of adequate self awareness that he was still that son of Mufasa.

After all, that was what qualified him to be king and nothing else; which also meant that he had always been worthy.

As believers, Jesus Christ sees us as heirs to His Kingdom and this places on us the responsibility of sharing our light with the dark world around us.

This we would do with our words and actions, so that in drawing men to ourselves by our good conduct in our little corner, we draw them to Him the ultimate source of this light.

Truthfully, the world around us is perishing and as God's children we can no longer say that “it's not our business”.

How can it be “hakuna matata” when there's so much going on around us?

There's something we can do!

Many around us are in desperate need of an encounter with God and maybe we are the ones he would use.

Yet this is only possible when we've first taken our own place in the circle of life (i.e our role of importance, on the path of our purpose)

Surely, God won't send Old Rafiki our way but once we develop a willingness to go back home to Him, He begins to cause things to align well for us in that direction.

God is steadily calling us to come back to Him as His little children, pure in heart, and exhibiting the courage of innocence so that our voice may not be silenced.

We don't have to be ready, just willing.

Summary:

Last week and again today we've picked up some lessons from a fictional story we wouldn't normally pay much attention to.

Hopefully, it has reminded us that as children of God we are to arise to take our place in His Kingdom, starting here on earth from our respective corners.

Yes! It's time to take our place in the circle of life by playing our God given roles in the society we find ourselves.

See you next week my friend.

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