The Peeled Sheep, A Short That Teaches Us To Accept Reality In Order To Be Happy

Although many animation shorts are intended for the smallest of the house, adults can also learn a lot from them. At times, we immerse ourselves in the worries and difficulties of our life, forgetting to accept reality in order to be happy. One of the most valuable lessons that we will learn thanks to The Peeled Sheep.

The Peeled Sheep is a short made by Pixar that was nominated for the Oscars in 2010. In it the main characters are a dancing sheep and a rabbit.

However, secondary characters also appear, such as a snake and an owl, among others. All of them are part of a story that refers to self-esteem, self-confidence and acceptance of circumstances in order to be happy.

The sheep that was not accepted

In the short film “The peeled sheep” the story is told of a sheep that has very abundant wool and loves to dance. In fact, he brags about it and even brags about it. However, one day they shear it and their spirits collapse. It is then that a rabbit appears on the scene (a bit unique) that will try to bring some light to the sadness in which the sheep is plunged.

The rabbit says phrases as wise as “your mind lies to you and that is cruel”, alluding to the fact that it does not matter what others think or the laughter that your change may awaken in others. This is a clear reference to self-esteem which, as the Fundación Imagen y Autoestima points out, is a concept that “has to do with everything we think, feel and do towards ourselves”.

The rabbit also refers to another important issue. The sheep laments about the color of its fur. Before she was covered in soft white wool, but now only her bare pink skin remains. The rabbit answers that what does that matter. “You are gray, purple, beige or brown,” he says. Thus, he mentions diversity, what is different and how that is normal and should not be a tragedy.

The Rabbit Lessons and How to Accept Reality to Be Happy

After these explanations that the rabbit gives to the sheep so that it can be aware of its situation and open its eyes, some of the most valuable lessons begin that will help that sheep to accept reality in order to be happy. In fact, the end of the short will surprise us. But, let’s see what the teachings of this curious rabbit are.

The first is that he tells the sheep “if you feel terrible, look around you, you still have a body, legs […]”. Thus, frequently, when we identify a problem, we focus our resources on it, somehow immersing ourselves in the lake that forms its limits and acquiring a kind of blindness for the rest. As the article Mindfulness in Perspective explains , paying attention to the present moment can be a good way to get out of this claustrophobic mental environment.

The second teaching is that the rabbit says to the sheep “just by trying, you can do it” referring to dance. It was the engine that made the sheep so happy.

That is why, after a few tricks, he begins to dance again, jumping to the top, as a beautiful metaphor that we also have a powerful force, formed by will and knowledge, which will always be able to influence and sometimes, even come to rule the circumstances.

After understanding these lessons, the sheep expected each year to be sheared again without this changing anything it did. His change in appearance no longer influenced his mood. He had achieved something that he thought was impossible: that reality, what he could not change, would not be an obstacle to his happiness.

It will happen to us on rare occasions. We can lose our jobs, lose our hair, or have an accident that saps our resources. In return, people have an extraordinary capacity to adapt.

This begins in our will, but also in our curiosity and ability to regulate anxiety that may originate in the memory or in the projection of that future that we fear. Thus, when we find ourselves in this position, watching this short can shed some light on what we are feeling.