Life of Pi; a beautiful movie adapted from a
book I have yet to read. A movie that moved me to tears. A movie that changed
me.
Richard Parker is the
name of the ferociously magnificent tiger in this story. He is the companion of
a young man on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific for 277 days. During
these days Pi (the boy) and Richard Parker (the tiger) fight, help, frighten,
and save one another. Neither could have made it safely back to civilization
without the other.
So where does the life
change come in? Why did this movie affect me so deeply? The answer is in the
metaphor.
In this life we are
all "shipwrecked". We've been dropped into the middle of the sea and
left to survive and find a way home. Help comes in the form of rain, mysterious
islands, flying fish, and many other things. In our metaphor those
"things" are really people or experiences that renew our strength and
give us hope.
On this journey, being
lost at sea, we have a companion. He is ferocious and beautiful. He is wild and
intriguing. After some time, fights, struggles, and triumphs we begin to feel
that he is our friend. Anything that helps us survive and stay sane for that
long must feel some friendliness or debt to us. So when we get to land and we
feel safe again, we look over at our comrade and expect a look of gratitude; a
farewell gland; a sign of our mutual achievement. Alas, in the end Richard Parker, our magnificent companion walks away. He doesn't even look back.
The tiger in our
scenario can be equated to Satan: the devil, the great deceiver, our enemy.
Without him we could not reach our final destination. We would not become strong.
Our journey would end abruptly with little to no growth. Our sanity would be
tried and our level of alertness would be dismal at best. Sometimes we trick
ourselves into thinking he is our friend. That, at the end of this journey, we
can maintain some of that bond. But Richard Parker is a tiger; Satan is the
devil.
Just as the tiger only
used Pi to survive on this journey, the devil's only purpose is to lead us away
from what we believe. He can lull us into a false sense of security. A tiger is
a tiger. If he is given the chance to turn on you he will.
So we must stay alert.
We have to remember that, although we share this journey with Satan, he will
always walk away at the end. Will we use his presence to motivate us or will we
be tricked into believing he is not what he seems?
Just remember tigers
(and the devil) can't change their stripes. They are what they are and if we
remember that we can make it through: easy as Pi.
