awaken

I saw Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian at a matinee today. The movie is inspiring several entries, but my first has to do with the overall effect that the movie has had on me. I feel like I had been sleeping, and was stirred awake for a bit.

In Prince Caspian, the mythical (not imaginary, but mythical) land of Narnia has been overtaken by intruders, relegating all of the Narnian inhabitants to exile (at best) and wild savagery (at worst).

More notable than the children's absence is that of Narnia's king, Aslan. There has been no sign of him since the children left. They even have to go on a search for him once they arrive again.

All four children are surprised at the state of Narnia. The youngest of the four children, Lucy, is shocked to find that bears won't talk to her, but rather want to eat her. One of her newfound Narnian friends saves her from the bear by putting an arrow through its heart. A dialouge ensues:

Lucy: "Why did he want to eat me?"
Narnian: "I'd say because he appeared to be hungry."
Lucy: "Why, he didn't even talk. He was as wild and savage as the animals at home."
Narnian: "Well, when you get treated like an animal long enough, you forget who you are, and you become an animal."

Later in the movie, Lucy has a dream. In it she journeys through the forest on a search for Aslan. As she searches, it becomes apparent that she is searching for him in the Narnia that used to be--where flower petals whisked through the air to make magical creatures, and trees sway, move, and dance to point the way to Aslan. In her dream, Lucy eventually finds Aslan, but awakes to find that it was only a dream. She rises and follows the path in the forest that she had dreamed about, stopping to touch a tree and whisper: "Wake up."

As I watched the movie, I allowed myself to be swept up in all of its symbolism. I found myself to be one of the Narnians. As I stop looking for God, I stop seeing him. The longer I fail to see him, the more sleepy I get. The deeper my sleep gets, the more I forget who I really am. I become like a Narnian tree: no longer do I dance, sway, or point the way.

Which is why when I first saw and heard Aslan speak in Lucy's dream, I had to fight back tears.

I do not want to sleep anymore.

I want to dance, sway, and point the way.