I am officially obsessed with Moana!
Querida Amiga,
I am officially obsessed with Moana!
Coco is the last animated film I’d seen — I am not much of a Disney person. However, I was having dinner at a friend’s house and her daughter decided she wanted Moana to play in the background. My friend asked if I would be ok watching Moana again. I replied that I had never seen it. My friend’s eyes got big as she turned to me and said, “What?! We love Moana!”
I was game and we settled in for delicious bowls of spaghetti carbonara and my first viewing of Moana. Within a few minutes, I was hooked, because Moana was on a journey to be a Thriving Chingona!
Indulge me for a moment…
(Note: potential spoilers ahead)
The question she grapples with is Who am I meant to be?
Her journey into the unknown is guided by her ancestors and her intuition.
As she struggled with her journey through the rough waters surrounding the only home she had known, she kept repeating a mantra to stay the course of leaving the island.
Throughout the story, there were perceived dangers along the way that could have distracted her or sent her back to the known comforts of home. She chose to stick with the unchartered path because her pull to purpose was so strong.
As we neared the climax of the story and she felt she could no longer continue, an ancestor arrived to restore her vision and strength. She was able to regain a deep connection to self and her purpose.
In the end, she struggled to complete her mission because she kept going towards the harder path. She paused, gained clarity, and realized a path with more ease that ultimately led to her completing her mission.
Though she returned to the comforts of home after her mission was complete, she was now showing up as her authentic self and not who she was told she had to be. She was now setting the intention for her life, not those around her.
I couldn’t help myself throughout the movie. I kept noting out loud the power in Moana’s choices and how excited I was for the choices she was making. My friend’s daughter was excited by the action, singing, and dancing. By the end of the movie, she had helped me to be a Moana fan as well.
I mentioned to my friend afterward that the movie gave me hope about a change in how we talk to young girls about their choices in life and their agency to set the path for their lives.
May the role models who now emerge for our next generation no longer follow the path set by others and wait to be saved.
May we be those emerging role models. Latinas curious about who we are and how we show up in the world. Latinas connected to the power of those who came before us and picking up the torch to live in our power. Latinas pausing to connect with the path of ease that will lead us to fulfilling our purpose.
Quiero saber de ti. Who are you meant to be? What ancestors are you connected to who assist you to show up as your true self? How do you pause to let ease find you?
Un Abrazo,
Michelle
P.S. The Healing with Ancestors workshop is back and this year it is FREE! It has been a long time since we have had a larger virtual gathering as a Thriving Chingona Community. Please join me on Saturday, October 23rd from 9-11 am PT.
In this workshop, we will...
*Be in community as Latinas who are leaning into connecting with their ancestors
*Identify which ancestors are important to our exploration of self
*Explore the various ways that connecting to ancestors can teach us more about what we no longer need to carry and the parts of ourselves that are ready to expand
*Learn multiple ways to connect with ancestors and honor their presence beyond the workshop
