We’re at it again. Isn’t that great? I think so at least. This time around I was inspired to write you because of a Disney movie song. No, it is not “Let it go”, newer Disney movies are so overrated, the classics are where it’s at.

What song was it and from which movie did it come from? Well, it was Reflections from the Mulan movie. Personal side note, having grown up with those movies as a kid I can confirm Mulan is the #1 Disney princess, undisputed. She’s a straight up boss, overcomes societal expectations by integrating masculine and feminine qualities to make herself a more well-rounded and capable human being. That’s the kind of shit, knowing what I know now, that brings tears to my eyes.

Now this isn’t going to be an in depth analysis of the symbolism in that movie. No, instead I want to focus on a few lines in the song that brought forth something in me. One line goes, “Who is that girl I see… staring straight back at me?”. Okay, what’s going on here? Well, the persona she broadcasts to the world is at odds with who she is as a person. This internal discrepancy between persona and person causes agony not just for a character in a movie but also for so many people in the real world as well. I believe, and this just my view on it; that in many respects people haven’t spent enough time discovering through introspection who they really are. So, they can only really see the roles and societal expectations they think they have to fill. These inevitably don’t fully capture the real secret of who they are and although they may not be able to articulate it, they still can feel the pain that arises from that personal dissonance.

Understanding of who you really are, can come from introspection or going through certain experiences, like Mulan does in the movie. Either way of getting there is fine but the important thing is that you do get there. That’s why I encourage you do to some of the techniques I’ve talked about previously in other posts. For instance, writing on a piece of paper who you are and trying to untangle that answer, meditating (I don’t I’ve mentioned that one before but I will at some point), writing a page of your thoughts, building a quote book and even reading.

Okay, next line “Somehow I cannot hide, who I am… though I’ve tried”. Acceptance of yourself, god isn’t that hard to come to terms with. Strange isn’t, as humans the hardest thing can be to reconcile with yourself over yourself. People do this kind of shit all the time, trying to run away from what they really are. It never works, and the character acknowledges that in the same line, yet we do it anyway. And can you take a guess as to why it doesn’t work?

Well, it’s because of the inescapable fact that only you can be you. There’s no quick fix for this, but we both know quick fixes don’t work; and that’s established due to running away not working. I think time is a major factor in this equation, well I should say doing the practices that I mentioned above over time.

Last one, “When will my reflection show who I am inside”. Dang this one hurts the soul the most. Many years ago when I was much younger, I thought something very similar. The truth is that this issue is very much linked to the previous line, and the way to solve it is the same. I’m reminded of the saying “private victories precede public victories” but within the context of the individual. So, it should go more like, internal victories precede external victories. Conquering the terrain within yourself is the only way to achieve the outcome that the character desires and that we as human beings desire too. In my own personal situation, when I look at the man in the mirror; I’m at peace knowing that every day he becomes less of a stranger.

Could do a whole series solely based off the songs from Mulan but I don’t think I will. This was a more of a spur of the moment kind of thing. No clue if it made any sense, but it made sense to me at the time of writing.

Anyways, thanks again to the growing number of Hedites for showing their support. You all are incredible people. More is on the way, but you already knew that