Transformation

I watched a movie on Netflix called, The Chosen One. It was about a man who was struggling with his life….with alcoholism, a wife who left him for a yoga instructor, and his father’s suicide that happened years ago. Three shamen from a far-away, little-known tribe came to him and told him he was chosen to help save their tribe.

He thought they were crazy but he kept having strange things happen. One was a recurring hawk dream. Even through his resistance he saw changes in his life from their presence in it. Houseplants began to flourish, all alcohol evaporated from bottles and old behaviors began to be questioned and transformed as he began to open to change.

One of the key components of him stepping into his greatness to help this tribe was self-forgiveness. You see he was drunk when he came home and found his father hanging in his garage and for years had blamed himself for his father’s death. The shamen kept purifying him with sage and rattles and prayers. He slipped into old behaviors and fell backwards…briefly…but he finally put it all together and realized what his moment of greatness entailed and he took the risk to do it. In the process of helping a hawk in real life, his past was healed.

During his act of bravery to help the hawk, the scene flashed to him finding his father in the garage and taking him down from the rope. He was able to rewrite history, in a way. He held his father in a loving, tearful embrace and his father transformed into a hawk.

What a powerful moment in life when we can, with the utmost love and respect, open our arms and allow freedom to rule.We forgive our mistakes and the mistakes of others and stand with open hearts.  With no need to grasp on to the past or future, we stand in the present moment.

Perhaps we can begin by setting ourselves free, forgiving ourselves. Then, as the shamen taught, we are free to heal the world. Healing the past can open doors of great love in the present, the future. Who knows what miracles can occur when we choose to heal our lives? It can only create more room for love. Inner change can be scary as we are moving into unchartered inner territory. The key? Simply being open to transformation.