"...kind people find that they are really cruel; brave men discover that they are really cowards. Confronted with their true selves, most men run away screaming." -Engywook, Neverending Story
My favorite movie of all time would have to be "The Neverending Story". I'm definitely an 80's baby, but my love for this flick isn't due to its classic reputation; it's chock full of meaning and I'm a sucker for hidden gems of wisdom careful crafted inside of a fantasy setting. There's quite a few points in this story that resonate with me, but the one that speaks the most is the one at the Magic Mirror Gate.
For those of you who have never seen this movie(and may your soul forgive you😌), the protagonist, Bastian, is a troubled young boy who is neglected by his father after the passing of his mother. He is shown being bullied by a group of his peers on his way to school, so he decides to skip out of class and hide in the school's attic with an old book he picked up from an antique bookstore.
The story he reads follows a young warrior on his journey to save the magical land of Fantasia, a place which exists as the hopes and dreams of mankind, from vanishing into "The Nothing", a sort of all-consuming invisible force that represents the emptiness of despair left within those who have lost their imagination and beliefs. "It is implied that all Fantasians lost to The Nothing are reborn in the human world as lies."(http://theneverendingstory.wikia.com/wiki/The_Nothing)
There are several "tests" this warrior, Atreyu, must pass along his course, and the Magic Mirror Gate is the hardest one of all. What he finds when peering inside his own reflection is quite the shocker(spoiler alert!)
Yup, you got it..Atreyu finds that he is really the broken, insecure little Bastian hiding away from his life reading about a strugglng champion on his quest to stop his own ego from absorbing him(AHA moment, anyone?)
What is EGO?
Simply put, ego is who we think we are. It is a personality made up of our experiences. It's not necessarily bad; it is a door through which we can gain spiritual insight into our true selves, but it can certainly wreak havoc if you're not paying attention(aka: awareness).
So what we see here in the Neverending Story is that Atreyu is no warrior. In fact, he is no one at all. He simply served as the door through which Bastian could connect to himself. Bastian is really the one being challenged to stop the growing emptiness inside him from devouring his true nature, in which he is only successful through becoming conscious of himself and facing the demons of his past. Amazing isn't it?
"Our physical world is an expression of our collective internal torment. Our lives are an expression of our inner emptiness."
(https://lonerwolf.com/what-is-the-ego/)
Somewhere along this road called life, we have all lost a bit of ourselves. Some, a lot. Like Bastian, we've experience some sort of pain, trauma, heartache, and we let it define us. We let it become us until we find ourselves locked away in a dark place.
"Not only do we sever ourselves from others, but we are cut off from ourselves as well. Anything within us that we perceive of as being “evil/bad/wrong/sinful” we suppress, repress and deny the existence of. As a result of this repressed energy, our Shadow Selves grow more and more twisted, destructive and depraved. Finally, this intense suffering is expressed in our relationships and the world at large."(https://lonerwolf.com/what-is-the-ego/)
But there is hope. You too can restore the land of "Fantasia" within you by facing the antagonist of your story, which is you. As the old saying goes, "the truth shall set you free". So take heart, brave warrior, and tell me what will you see at the Magic Mirror Gate?