I would like to recommend a movie I saw recently called, March of the Penguins, produced by Warner Independent Pictures and National Geographic Feature Films.

This movie was a surprise to me, not at all what I was expecting. I was hoping it would be more like Polar Express and I would leave the theatre feeling uplifted, and that feeling would stay with me for days. This was a different kind of film. It was beautiful and stunning, and I was deeply touched, but I couldn’t help but feel the anguish and pain, that these grace filled beings suffer every year, when they endure the 70 mile - 20 day march to their breeding grounds, and the experiences that follow, to give life to the enchanting baby penguins. There were scenes in this film that are burned in my memory forever.

I saw this movie with a friend who was feeling a little down and thinking his life was difficult. After watching this documentary, both of our lives seemed like a piece of cake. I highly recommend this movie. It will make you laugh, and it will make you cry. I have been haunted by it ever since. This amazing story has caused me to think deeply about so many things. It has uncovered places deep inside me that cry out for healing, and it has reminded me of what is really important in life.

The story, beautifully narrated by Morgan Freeman, opens with the words... "In the harshest place on earth, LOVE finds a way. This is the incredible true story of a family’s journey to bring life into the world."

And incredible, is an understatement. As I watched these tuxedo clad beings leap out of their ocean home to begin their journey, walking upright in single file, I understood the power of clear focus, keeping your mind on the goal, and moving forward with fierce determination, in a way I had not comprehended it before. I understood too, about never giving up. And as they progressed along their perilous journey, in the dark and cold, and the scenery changed from previous years, and they needed to find their way, I knew the importance of following my own instincts and connecting to my own inner guidance. I appreciated how important it is sometimes to just keep going, even if it means you may have to crawl on your belly for awhile.

After the long, cold and arduous trek to their mating ground, I sat raptured, as each penguin attempted to choose a partner, someone especially for them, from a sea of what only appeared to be identical partners, wondering just how and why they made their choice. And then, I witnessed what had to be the most tender, delicate, intricate, courtship dance on the planet - intimate, affectionate and stunningly beautiful. Totally enthralled with this ritual, there were moments when I didn’t know where these beautiful beings ended and I began.

Each female, lucky enough to have found a mate, laid a single egg, and that egg was very carefully transferred to her male partner, to guard and hatch, while the now very weak female begins her journey back the same 70 miles, to obtain nourishment again on the ocean floor.

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