Lion King and Garbage

“ Mufasa: Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.
Simba: But, Dad, don't we eat the antelope?
Mufasa: Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life.

—Mufasa and SimbaM

 

Ah, the Circle of Life. 

 

Driving up St. Clair Avenue yesterday in the aftermath of record snowfalls, I came upon a sight that made me pull over immediately. Stuck in a drift of icy snow left by snowplows was a garbage truck, helpless as a beached whale, all of 70,000 lbs. Delighted, I leapt from my car, and approached the comical scene to find, as I suspected, my old buddy Wes shoveling at the ice and slush around the rear tires. I put my shoulder to the back of the truck and shouted, "Giver 'er some gas!" The driver, Didre, saw me in the side mirror, as did Wes, and we cracked apart laughing. 

We recounted the time together when we got stuck in a steep alley and risked destroying a garage as we worked to find traction out of a predicament. We recounted Wes paying a kid $20 to help shovel out of a spot. Then, when the truck got out and got re-stuck,  the little entrepreneur wanted another $20 to help again. Wes had no more cash, so the kid started shoveling snow back in front of the truck.

But this time we had resources. There were cables in the truck, enough to throw under three sets of tandem tires, but we had one more set of tandems in the back. We needed traction on this last set which were spinning on glare ice. 

(Here we need the Lion King theme song. Hear it in your mind...)

I spotted in the bay of the truck a stuffed animal. It was Simba. With a red heart sewed to the bottom of his foot. I knew he could save us. 

Simba took hold. The truck was set free, but the lion sustained mortal injury.

 

Wes was spent from shoveling, but would recover.

 

In this world everything and everyone is connected. The benefit, pain, or sacrifice of one affects all. Life indeed is a circle of inter-connectedness. We are deluded when we don't feel this. 

Garbage, lions, toys, movies, friends, trucks, laughter, ice. One world. Funny examples. Deadly serious examples. Every single being is every single other's concern. To love one's neighbor as one's self is not a moral imperative so much as it is the statement of fact: to love the neighbor is to love ourselves. And to truly love ourselves is to love every neighbor. 

 

We are inseparable... in the Circle of Life. 

Word of Mufasa, Word of Truth, Amen.