“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift.” My 6 year old has been chanting this around the house lately. I’m not sure he really appreciates what it means, but he likes that it rhymes and that it’s from Kung Fu Panda. Yes, that’s right, profundity from a children’s cartoon movie. That shouldn’t really be surprising, after all most of the cartoon movies we watch have profound aspirations. Cars teaches respect for your elders, Monsters VS Aliens teaches tolerance for those who are different, and all the Toy Story movies teach the importance of relationships. The most profound is probably Wall-E which shows us the demise (and re-birth) of our civilization. Still, that quote got me.
I can’t honestly say that I’ve seen Kung Fu Panda all the way through. I know as a parent I’m supposed to vet the movies that my children watch—but who has time for that? I trust the rating system and most of the time I’ve not been disappointed. I believe the plot of the movie involves teaching a lazy panda to be a champion Kung Fu fighter. There is a lot of overcoming obstacles, identifying different motivating factors and valuing what is different in each of us. I don’t know where the above quote fits in the movie, except maybe as a reminder to put the failures of the past behind us and always do our best in the present.
This is something I try to teach my children. My oldest especially has a hard time making mistakes. He beats himself up over them and gets stuck on what he has done wrong. I encourage him to learn from it and move on; after all we can’t go back and change it. There are many things I’d change in my past if I could, but I can’t, so I have to try and make the best of it going forward.
That quote makes me sad as well as hopeful. It fits in with one of the themes of this blog which has turned out to be cherish the time you have, every minute of it, because you never know how much you have. Today truly is a gift and you waste it at your peril. It also makes me sad because it relegates my time with Eric to history and I’m not ready for that. Even if it’s only semantics.
Some people don’t let their kids watch any TV; I’ve never been in that camp although I do try to limit it. I haven’t noticed my children losing ground in school or any other way because I let them watch. I have noticed that they learn things that surprise me. I owe thanks to my 6 year old for finding me a succinct (and rhyming!) way to share what I have learned.
Great post, as always. The quote is a teaching from the wisest elder to the Panda, who is questioning whether he could possibly be the famed "one" and wondering what is to come. The elder tells him "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift -- that's why they call it the present." His lesson is that opportunities abound if you don't worry about how things have traditionally happened, and if you don't worry about what might happen in the future -- you should make the most of right now. It is my favorite quote in the movie.
ReplyDeleteBen probably watches too much tv -- albeit, in a life well balanced with learning, artistic endeavors, and plenty of running and playing, too -- but these movies (all of which he loves -- and Wall-E is our long-standing favorite) have some many lessons to teach.