Walt Disney once vocalized, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” The Happiest Place on Earth. That is a pretty bold statement. Recently when we visited Disney World, my son’s friend questioned the validity of this statement. “I don’t really think Magic Kingdom is the happiest place on earth” he argued, “I can think of other happy places. Ms. Gina, do you believe this is the happiest place on earth? What about church, would you say that is a happier place on earth?” I must admit he had some good arguments. My friend took it one step further, later in the day when we were standing in 90-120 minute lines for the rides she skeptically proclaimed, “If this is the happiest place on earth, why do so many people look so unhappy?!” Good point, I thought to myself as I quickly scanned the crowd for a happy face. After about a minute, I saw a Disney employee smiling broadly. Whew! For a minute I was afraid I couldn’t support the Disney World theme.
It got me thinking, why do we go to Disney, or any other theme park for that matter? We plan our trip, take off of work, travel to our destination, spend a boatload of money, battle the crowds, stand in ridiculous lines, spend more money, race from ride to ride, walk all over the park for twelve plus hours, spend more money, and finally leave after the fireworks; worn out, sweaty, and dog-tired. We drag back to our hotel. Check our ‘fast-passes’ for the following day. Fall into bed exhausted, and then get up and do it all over again. That hardly sounds like fun… and yet it is….
But why? In all honesty, it is an escape from reality. You can be child-like. You can have fun. You can wear crazy t-shirts, lanyards with Disney pins, and funky hats, and no one looks down their nose at you. You can eat ice cream, funnel cakes or a multitude of other snacks, and no one gives you the stink eye; implying you just really don’t need that. You can be dazzled, impressed and stargazed over characters walking around in costumes, and no one dares to tell you they aren’t real. But the best part is that you can let your guard down and just be yourself. Your imagination can literally run wild. You can dare to let your dreams come true.
We can learn a lot from kids…. Kids are not afraid to be themselves. They let their imaginations run free. They dream big dreams and believe they will come true. My friend, when is the last time you emulated a child?
When was the last time you looked at the man (or woman) in the mirror and thought, “He (or she) doesn’t look like everybody else, he’s (she’s) not as good-looking, smart, hard-bodied or funny as so and so, but that’s okay, I like him(her).” It is okay to like yourself; your personality, your body, your talents or even the apparent lack thereof. It is okay to be weird, nerdy and your own sort of cool. How boring would it be if we all looked and acted the same. Be yourself. Love yourself.
When was the last time you imagined yourself doing great things, meeting great people or being great yourself? You didn’t have any trouble believing you’d be a NBA player, an astronaut, or a famous actress as a child. You knew you would invent a flying car, find a cure for cancer or bring about world peace, and it was only a matter of time before you had dinner with the President, Lebron James or Taylor Swift. It is okay to imagine. God made us intellectual, thinking people, but gave us imaginations to use liberally and abundantly.
Do you dream my friend? You did as a child. What keeps you from dreaming today? Are you afraid? Have you been disappointed in the past? Have you failed? Have you been rejected? People who dream-change the world! If you study almost any really successful person, who has made their mark in this world, they will tell you that they are not afraid to dream. Martin Luther King’s, “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the most profoundly motivating, passionately driven and most read speeches of all time. When he plainly states, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they won’t be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”, we can dare to dream it too. Walt Disney, himself, boldly proclaimed, “If you can dream it, you can do it!” Is he right? Do you believe it my friend? Dream. Dream and dream big. Don’t be afraid of what others might think. Don’t fear failure, past hurts or rejection. Just dream.
You don’t have to visit Disney World or another theme park to take on child-like characteristics. You can decide to just be yourself today. You aren’t perfect but you are excellent. God don’t make no junk. Just as you are the only one in the whole wide world with your fingerprint, you are the only you in this world. Be yourself and be content being you. Use your imagination daily. It is a gift from God. He formed our brains to calculate, study, formulate and dissect information, but he also created our brains to imagine doing great things, meeting great people and being great ourselves. Lastly, don’t be afraid to dream. Lay down your past. Look to your future. Dream and dream big. Remember, if you can dream it, you can do it!!
Taking Back Happy 