Wisdom From A Pig

When I was a little kid, one of my most favorite cartoons was "Charlotte's Web". My cousins and I would rent a Betamax tape of the movie and watch it over and over and over. I remember I would be so touched by the story that I would cry during the emotional scenes :-)

And so I was thrilled to find out late last year that Paramount Pictures made a movie version (with real people) of Charlotte's Web!
Entering the theatre, I had pretty high expectations of the movie. And I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint me one bit! I loved everything, and still cried even if I knew the story already.

Anyway, this entry isn't about my review of the film. It's about a line in the movie that really struck me. The baby pig Wilbur, who was new at the barn, was asking the other animals if they could play with him. They all turned him down coz they were busy going about their own businesses. So Wilbur, who was probably wondering why the other animals were not interacting with each other, asked aloud "Aren't you all friends here?" (or something like that). Then one of the animals (the cow or goose, I don't remember) replied that "Yes, we're all living here together, aren't we?" (or something like that). Wilbur's reaction to this is what really struck me:

"Just because you're all together in one place doesn't mean you're friends." (or something like that).

It made me realize that this was so true. And it applies to many situations... just because you're together in an office doesn't make you automatically friends with everyone there. Just because you belong to the same organization doesn't mean you're all friends there. And the same goes for a community and even your own family! Just because you all live under the same roof doesn't mean you're friends -- in the real sense of the word.

Friendship is about talking on a deeper level, really knowing one another... it's about going out of your way for one another... it's about loyalty, and sacrifice - putting others ahead of you... it's about caring, and giving. And loving people for who they are and not for what they can do.

Some pig indeed. :-)