Skellig The Angel

This is not normally the image that comes to mind when one thinks of angels, is it? But in my opinion this is probably closer to what angels really look like than what we imagine. If angels were to walk amongst us, they would have to be visible and yet indiscernible all at the same time. I have had encounters with angels, and they are not creatures with radiant bodies and shimmering wings. They are more like rough-hewn diamonds and their beauty and strength is from within.  I once had an angel tap me on the shoulder when a woman next to me was dying, and I was able to save the woman's life.  Angels don't fool around.

Recently I watched a movie called Skellig the Owl Man, taken from the children's book Skellig, by David Almond, and I think it is one of the most wonderful movies I have ever seen. Skellig is definitely not a conventional angel. At first he is mistaken as a homeless man.  He craves Chinese food, beer and aspirin.  He is crotchety, unkempt, arthritic, and he just wants to be left alone to live in the garden shed. But as the eyes are the windows of the soul, Skellig's power, kindness and love becomes evident through his eyes.

The movie is not a religious movie, but rather a spiritual one.  There are references to evolution in a spiritual context, and also references to the poet William Blake, who had unconventional ideas about spirituality.  Personally, I have never been a fan of organized religion, because often the proponents of organized religion are also judgmental, and I have been on the receiving end of that judgment.  Organized religion and real spirituality seem to be moving farther apart all the time, but I believe spirituality is all around us if we open our eyes to see it.  Skellig the Owl Man is a perfect movie for kids, to teach them to look for spirituality everywhere and in everyone -- even in themselves.