“Lunana, A Yak in the Classroom”, A Moving Testimony Of A Film About Where True Happiness Comes From…

Welcome to another Grateful Heart Monday where I share my weekly writing entry in gratitude. For today, I’d like to express my gratefulness for a 2022 Academy Award nominee in the Best Foreign Picture category titled, “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom”, a movie that is a moving testimony of where true happiness comes from.

“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” is based upon the true story of a young man named Ugyen (Sherab Dorji) from Bhutan who dreams of moving to Australia to pursue his dream of a singing career. Having completed four of his five mandatory years of training as a teacher for the government, Ugyen is tired of doing that career path and considers quitting, especially after getting his final assignment, which is at the most remote school of his country in the mountain village of Lunana. With a population of only 56 people and an eight-day hike to get there from the closest town, Lunana is the last place Ugyen wants to be at. But, after considerable urging by his grandmother to complete his last teaching assignment, Ugyen sets off on the journey into the mountains with two guides, Michen (Ugyen Norbu Lhendup) and Signye (Tshering Dorji). It’s overly apparent how at peace and grateful Michen and Signye are with what they are given from the land and the people who help them along the way, and how ungrateful and frustrated Ugyen is with his current life’s circumstances. It becomes even more apparent the difference in attitudes upon his arrival in the village where Ugyen is greeted with the warmest showing and unconditional love that should melt anyone’s heart, but all Ugyen can think of is how quickly he can turn around and head back home to the life he thinks he’s meant to be living. That all begins to change though when he meets a very young bright-eyed class captain named Pem Zam (playing herself), who somehow finds a way into Ugyen’s heart. “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” tells the wonderful story of how one young man ends up travelling what some say is the longest distance to travel in our world, that being from living in our minds to one of living in our hearts.

While I wrote the other day of how so many films and television shows these days seem to be becoming so dark and depressing, “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” stands the complete opposite and most definitely moved my soul. Having been filmed on a measly $300,000 budget in the actual remote village of Lunana where nothing but solar power exists and only when the sun is fully out, I was blown away at how real the film still felt. I learned the director wasn’t even able to review his daily footage because of his lack of electrical power. To have a film of this caliber shoot on such limited constraints and move me as much as it did says a lot. In contrast, many of these dark and depressing big studio films these days cost upwards of $50 million to $150 million. Nevertheless, on some level, this film felt so real to me that I actually thought I was watching a documentary about the life of these villagers!

One of the biggest reasons why I was moved so incredibly by “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” is how much I could relate to Ugyen’s spiritual journey to find himself. Having once been a big city kid myself who thought that having more meant a better life, only to discover that having less brought about far greater contentment in life, I saw strong similarities between myself and Ugyen. I also experienced plenty of gratitude for the villagers in this remote location who have learned to appreciate all of God’s beauty in each other and in the land around them.

In our society today, we often overlook the things that are beautiful right around us, like the bald eagle I would have missed seeing years ago, but thankfully saw in a farm field I was driving by the other day, who was just staring at me as I drove by. Instead, we often are constantly immersed in our phones and other technology, missing out on some of the best things to see that don’t cost a thing. Seeing the life of these remote villagers find happiness in just singing, communing, and supporting each other, I ultimately felt a ping in my heart by the end of the film wishing I could go spend a week with them.

I feel so many of us have forgotten in this world how to be thankful for what we have, even on the smallest of level, and “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” was a great reminder of both that and how far I’ve come from the days where I once thought I knew were happiness came from, only to discover that sometimes happiness comes in just being with another and sharing with them a piece of my heart.

Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson

Author: Andrew Arthur Dawson

A teacher of meditation, a motivational speaker, a reader of numerology, and a writer by trade, Andrew Arthur Dawson is a spiritual man devoted to serving his Higher Power and bringing a lot more light and love into this world. This blog, www.thetwelfthstep.com is just one of those ways...

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