Years ago a friend in China gave me a video titled Spirited Away. It was in Mandarin and Japanese, and because at the time, I was studying Mandarin, I was really excited to receive it from him. I watched the film several times. I couldn’t understand all the words because my Mandarin was only so so, but I was captivated by the animation, colors, sound effects and characters. The basic storyline of a little girl, Chihiro, left alone to survive in this world stuck with me. Years later, I found the story had also been translated into English so I watched it in English. Chihiro was told that she had to find a job if she wanted to survive. She needed to do whatever she could to get work. This shouldn’t have happened, but it did. Spirited Away is still Relevant to our lives today as we become vulnerable when we give surrender to our passions.
Find Food To Eat
So much of our lives revolve around work. The Japanese entertainment and the arts have done an incredible job of finding an itch and then scratching it. They seem to be really good at finding themes that resonate with society and then speaking into those spaces, and animation remains a great platform for doing that. It’s as though, we the audience somehow suspend our need to question the characters because they aren’t really human. People sometimes think that work is the most important thing in life. If you land a good job, then you are set for life or at least your life is on the right course. On the contrary, if you don’t find work, then your life is doomed to failure or as we see in “Spirited Away” you won’t survive. In Hong Kong my neighbor taught me the phrase, “Find food to eat”, which means find work. It seems that this theme brought out in Spirited Away remains very relevant today, even 24 years after it was produced.
Loosing Heart
Unfortunately, finding work isn’t the end of our struggles. Once we get a job, we have to work long hard hours; we come home feeling drained. It is natural for us to want to find ways to escape from the pressure we feel at work. Many times family and loved ones are neglected in this process. Our tour guide, Ah Chong shared with us about Japanese culture. Japanese men often work long days and go to the bars at night. Ah Chong told us that many times they prefer to hang out in the bars with their friends rather than to go home to their wives who are often very critical of them. It makes sense they would rather stay with their work colleagues were they feel accepted than to go home where they often feel emasculated, but this isn’t good for culture. Many authorities recognize the family is the basic unit of civilization. If men aren’t there to be a part of raising their kids or take care of their wives, it follows that the family is being compromised.
Lying Flat
But that’s still not the end of it. You have probably heard of laying flat. It’s not just in China. It’s now in Hong Kong and I dare say even in the United States. No I don’t think that the young people in the states have actually studied from the people in China or those in Hong Kong. They have just learned that it’s easier to be lazy than it is to work, and the reality is that in many instances their parents have allow them to get away with it. Anyway you look at this trend. It is not good for the family or for society. You might consider watching a film called, The Forge, on NetFlix it speaks to these issues and offers hope.
Giving Into Our Passions
The film, Spirited Away, was produced in 2001. It was way ahead of its time. Chiro’s parents should have known better than to have gotten lured into throwing all caution to the wind and eating like pigs at the theme park. Their passions for food got the best of them and they were turned into pigs. Either we will rule over our passions or our passions will rule us. Then after our passions rule over us, we will be more likely to abandon responsibility to our higher callings. Dad was proud of his ability to be there for his daughter Chihiro, but he abdicated his role when he let his passions rule over him. This theme is also very relevant for our time. Be careful what you give your heart to. This message needs to be heard by both young and old.
Food, Gaming, Drugs, Pornography…
So often people think, just one more video game, just one more snack, just one more look, but before they know there passions are ruling them. It can happen to anyone. Don’t think that you are above being distracted or led away from the path of life. The scriptures say guard your heart with all diligence for out of it comes the abundance of life. Each one of us must make up our minds ahead of time about what is important. This isn’t to say that we can’t have fun, but remember the words of the Proverb – a little slumber a little sleep and poverty will overtake you. Sow in the Spring so that you will be able to reap during harvest. Much of life is governed by processes. Think about where you are in your day. What tasks should you be doing? Is it easy for you to break away from certain task and to devote your attention other tasks? If so great. This isn’t a struggle for you. If it’s hard for you then you need to commit to being self controlled. There’s a good chance that just as in the above mentioned film, The Forge, you will need accountability to really make that happen for you. Remember time is life and you want your life to go to relationships with people that you value.
Plan Ahead
I admire the Japanese for their creativity, attention to detail. They seem to understand that there are laws to reality and the way that things work. As said earlier the Japanese have done a great job figuring out where we have a scratch and then providing a game, tool or device for scratching that itch. It’s really clever of them and it makes good sense for them financially. However, as concerned citizens or parents, it’s our job to plan ahead for a better future. We can’t afford to give ourselves over to our passions. It may not lead to our ruin today. “Spirited Away” gives us a dramatic idea of what could happen. It does so to scare us into considering the direction of our lives and making decisions to protect what is important to us. It’s not just us who will be affected our children and future generations will also be affected by the choices we make today.
