Garfield 2 is screening in the Singapore cinemas now. Garfield 1, for those who missed it, talks about how Garfield, the ever lovable lazy feline that used to be the No. 1 pet at home where all he is capable of is to eat lasagna and sleep, and oh, he’s a veteran at the TV remote control too! His status soon changed when his owner Jon, brought home a dog Odie from a vet name Liz whom he fancied and wanted to impress.
Suddenly, the world around Garfield starts to collapse. While on one hand Odie is the cute, obedient waggy doggy we all love to hug and snuggle to bed with, on the other hand he represents everything Garfield loathes. It’s easy to know why, isn’t it? Not only because one is a cat while the other is a dog, but also because Garfield is no longer the one and only one getting all the adoration and attention from Jon! How can Garfield ever stomach this loss of his kingdom, especially to a dog! Something has to be done.
To regain his territory, he used ways and means to get Odie out of the house. All his efforts went to drain, until one fine day, his scheme finally worked! In fact, it worked too well, because Odie was abducted! Garfield must be beaming from ear to ear, and floating in heaven for gaining back his kingdom once again. Truth is, he didn’t. Not only he didn’t feel at all satisfied, remorse came over him and he did the most unexpected – setting into action on an adventure to rescue Odie! A rescue mission that requires loads of energy (which he probably only have enough to get his milk and to activate the TV remote control), courage and selflessnes (don’t we all know he only has eyes for himself before Odie came into the scene?). Garfield has taken a quantum leap.
The movie ended with Garfield being the hero who successfuly rescued a dog who used to be his A-list enemy. Of course, the bullying didn’t stop with that heart-stopping, gut-wrenching rescue mission, once they are back in the comfort of home.
There are many Garfields in our lives, aren’t they? But, how many of them actually will put their hatred and grudges aside when the occasion calls for their help to bring someone whom they loathe, or even probably hate, out of danger? Hatred is a poison. It eats up your heart and emotions slowly, bit by bit, and if you fall into this black hole, you’ll find it very hard to get yourself out of it. To make things worse, some of them are in denial of their extreme abhorrence towards somone, which only means they are allowing themselves to wallow in this victim mode and continuous justification of the wrongs they have been suffering from.
How does doing this help them to become happier? It absolutely does not. Because there have been too many cases of such that only ends up in doom.
If you see the relationship between Garfield and Odie and how they lived together, it is completely one-sided where the cat is non-stop bullying the dog, while the dog only defends and give in, relentlessly. If Odie wasn’t so mild, and choose to go head-on with Garfield, do you think Garfield will feel a morsel of regret when he goes missing, even if it’s caused by Garfield? Maybe yes, maybe no.
As you can see, there must be one party who is willing to give in first. To be in a compromising position before any harmony can be restored, or achieved. Then again, not all the Odies in reality are so good-natured, are they? In fact, most of them are not! OUr minds have been wired to be activated for self-defense when anyone will so much as to invade our boundary. When you get a revengeful Odie, to dissovle these harmful feelings take even more love, understanding, patience and forgiveness than usual.
It takes a benevolent person to change another malevolent person. If your ‘enemy’ refuses to budge and chooses to remain hateful, maybe you can choose to be the benevolent one, and see the effect it has on you when the day comes for both of you to reunite again.
So my dear readers, may peace be with all of you. 
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