You can count on Disney

Tonight was "Dinner and a Movie" night at The River. We watched Lilo and Stitch and it was awesome. It was even better than the first time I saw it.

The movie has a lot of good stuff to say about family, but what I found to be even more interesting was it's commentary on the search for meaning and purpose in life. Stitch was created as the ultimate agent of destruction -- that's the reason behind his existence. When he finds himself in a situation where there is nothing to destroy, he is at a loss and he sinks into despair.

Stitch's predicament actually gets worse before it gets better -- he is introduced to the concept of relationship. Relationship is a good thing, but for Stitch it only deepens his misery because learning about relationship makes him realize that he is alone (mostly because he doesn't know how to relate).

Poor Stitch; he's suffering because his two deepest and most fundamental needs -- the need for a sense of purpose and the need for relationship -- are unmet and he doesn't have the means to meet them. This makes Stitch a great every-man character. I think everyone shares these core needs for purpose and relationship and we all have to come to terms with the fact that we cannot meet these needs on our own.

Fear not though. As are all Disney movies, this one is true to life in the fact that there is always Hope. Things turn around for Stitch at one crucial moment. When Lilo is taken away from him he makes two life-changing realizations: 1) that he does indeed have both purpose and relationship and 2) these two things are inseparably and almost seamlessly linked.

Without realizing it, Stitch became part of a community. This plugged him into the most central and most powerful type of relationship: the unconditional and sacrificial love that is family. So being a part of the fam clearly gives him relationship, but I think it also gives him a deep sense of purpose and meaning. He now has something to live for -- a reason for being alive. This is easy to see when Lilo's safety is put in jeopardy. Stitch is instantly mobilized to do absolutely whatever it takes to save her -- he's acting out of a sense of purpose and he is unstoppable (he's also aided by the fact that he has some pretty sweet skills... like picking his nose with his tongue and doing Elvis impersonations).

To me, the really good news is that I have it better than stitch. We're alike in that we were both created with a purpose. Unfortunately for him, his purpose was destruction. It turns out that this purpose doesn't jive so well with relationship and community. So he had to be re-oriented so that his purpose was in line with his need to give and receive love. Luckily for me, my Creator wasn't a crazy mad scientist with derranged motives and he designed a built-in harmony between the desire for meaning and the desire for love. There is purpose in my relationships and relationship in my purpose. What a flippin sweet deal.

[As an aside:] In my opinion, it's also not insignifcant that Lilo is shown praying before Stitch arrives. She prays to get a friend who won't leave her and asks for the "nicest angel you have." Stitch then comes right out of the sky or "the heavens" if you will. Just goes to show you how powerful prayer can be. Crazy things can happen when you pray.