We Bought a Zoo

One of our favorite movies that my son and I like to watch is “We Bought a Zoo.” We’ve spent many nights watching that movie on the couch. We’ve even spent hours traveling to the beach or across the Midwest watching that movie in our car.

It’s a Matt Damon classic based on the real story of Benjamin Mee.

With the tragedy and heartbreak of a tumor stealing his wife’s life, Mee is met with a business proposition; purchasing a zoo. It’s an incredibly family friendly movie with highs and lows tugging at all the emotions of laughter and sadness that has taught me several life lessons along the way.

While my favorite scene in the movie, without question, is when real estate agent Mr. Stevens is showing them potential housing options, there’s this one scene in the movie where Lily asks Dylan a question, “if you had to choose between humans and animals, what would you choose?” They both sheepishly smile as she answered what seemed to be her own rhetorical question, “me too…the humans!”

We’re not necessarily faced with an “animals or humans” question but we are constantly faced with a barrage of questions all the time.

So what is it about this movie that I’ve learned about life?

There’s value in the adventure, not just the end.
Benjamin constantly refers to this new business deal as an adventure. It requires the existing staff and his own children to be on board with this new venture. Through thick and thin (and there were a lot of thin moments early on) he has a vision of where it all could go. The ebb and flow and the daily grind of owning a zoo takes its toll on them all, but the mission remains the same. There’s a need to focus and stay the course of what was in his heart from the start.

There were moments, especially in the beginning, where Mee questioned his own decisions. And others questioned him too. Because of the noise, he considered giving up. Saw himself as a failure. Thought he might need to throw in the towel. But he stayed with it and chose not to give up in the face of adversity. Why? Because he saw the value in the adventure all along the way!

Gripping the past too tightly robs the future of its vitality.
Sometimes the past can look more glamorous or dreary than it was ever meant to be. Our minds can play tricks on us to believe something that may or may not be true. And when we fail to see the past for what it really is it can hold us in bondage from experiencing even greater things in our future.

Benjamin had a great life with his wife. A great family. A great career. Lots of great memories. But when she died he and the kids were stuck in an emotional penitentiary. And the zoo was the beginning of their journey to freedom. New challenges, sure. But new relationships. New goals. A renewed sense of purpose that would be liberating from the dark fury of death.

All we need is twenty seconds of insane courage.
Courage is the antidote for fear. And getting over the hump of fear often only takes that initial shove in the direction of one audacious moment. It’s another moving moment in the story when Benjamin takes his kids back to the diner where it all started with their mom as he asks, “why would an amazing woman like you even talk to someone like me?”

It was that question that was forged with a twenty second pep talk of bravery that initiated a compelling story of romance. Date nights, an engagement, a wedding, two kids, and eventually a zoo. And it all started because he asked. I wonder how many opportunities are left untouched because we fail to face our fears and settle for not knowing what might have been.

A compelling vision is not forced on others.
No one could see it but Benjamin. His kids couldn’t see it. His brother couldn’t see it. The workers at the zoo couldn’t see it. Walter Ferris couldn’t see it. But Benjamin knew it would take time. It always takes time. And in time everyone will see.

Benjamin was so committed to the vision that he was willing to risk it all and push all his chips across the table for this new venture. He wasn’t forcing everyone else to buy in but he was going for it come hell or high water. The innocent bystanders are much more likely to join the cause when they see someone else go all in.

There’s something bigger at play here. It’s more than a few lines from a movie. Some plot twist. A scene tugging on your heart strings. It’s about finding what matters most.

Your life is a movie and it’s being written by the most incredible screenwriter in all of history. He’s using your story to tell the story of Someone greater than yourself.

Share your story. Overcome your fears. Don’t get stuck. Enjoy the ride.