Of Tangled and Typology :)

This weekend I had one of those great "Wow!  Not everyone thinks everyone thinks the same way I do (thank God!)" moments. 

I was at my sister's watching Tangled with my neice and nephew. We were watching the scene at the end [er...Spoilers?] and I exclaimed how much I love this film.  My sister asked why.  I rambled off a few things quickly:

- Mother Gothel's mirror breaks - a symbol of the shattering of the power of vanity [very much a Mirror Mirror relationship going on here... interesting since Snow White was Disney's 1st feature film and Tangled was it's 50th :]

- Flynn chooses to save Rapunzel rather than himself - amazing!

- The shards from that mirror would prove the very weapon Flynn would need to free Rapunzel and defeat Mother Gothel.

- There's a brief, but powerful shot of the rapidly aging Mother Gothel looking in the broken mirror - representing her fractured psyche [unfotunately, I couldn't find a picture of that shot]

- Pascal uses Rapunzel's hair (of all things) to trip Mother Gothel and she falls out the window to her death.

- Then of course we get the touching death of Flynn Rider - and even though you know Disney is going to bring him back to life, giving Rapunzel a haircut and killing off the "prince charming" in the same scene automatically qualifies it for "Most Unpredictable Disney Clip" - if not entire movie!

- And in one final, gorgeous shot before the resurrection a la Beauty and the Beast... we get this: the shattered mirror and shattered dreams - the (seeming) finality of death - bathed in rays of light.  And the Sun has not lost it's healing power after all.

So anyway... I rambled off most of those thoughts about the power of imagery very quickly, until my sister said, "Stop it, you're hurting my brain!"  After laughter and a "Wait - really?" - I had that wonderful shock to the system that, yes, I am odd.  And maybe people who are not constantly reading into things have a less stressful life.  Maybe they actually get more out of it!!

But its actually come at a wonderful time.  I've been learning so much about people lately - about our differences. We took the Meyers Briggs / Jungian Typology test at work [seriously, take it if you haven't and then visit the personality pages to get a scarily accurate description of your Type].  There are 16 different types of personalities according that test.  I'm also reading the 5 love languages.  I've had some really eye-opening experiences with family members and friends and co-workers. 

And I'm becoming aware again of the variety that exists in the human race - and that ALL of it is a reflection of who God is.

Some of you may just get this easier than I do.  But I've seriously been amazed listening to people who think in an entirely different way - not just from a different point of view, but an entirely other grid. Yet that grid is as much in the image of God as any other - even when they seem contrary.  And when I say "grid," I'm not talking about worldview as much as I'm talking about the personality and perspective each of us was born with.  Obviously each personality has its strengths and weaknesses... but there is something God just LOVES about each of them.  He's put a piece of himself in introverts and extroverts, in people who see black & white and those who see color, in the nerds and the free spirits.  They all reflect who He is!  And that's incredible!!

So even when you get bugged or someone doesn't understand you - take a moment to enjoy the variety in other people and to discover an aspect of God's character that you might not have seen or appreciated before!