Kick Starting Adventure

Really, this post can be applied to any story. But we're going to apply it to Disney movies.

Cause that makes sense. 

Obviously.

Everyone knows that if there's no conflict, there's not much of a story. Could you imagine how non-heart breaking of a story Titanic would be if the ship actually made it all the way to New York? In fact, if we took out all conflict in that movie, Rose wouldn't have even fallen in love with Jack. She would have ended up Mr. Jerk-face just like she was supposed to and everyone would have lived. And then we'd have absolutely no show. Which means no #2 USA box office hit, moving Breaking Dawn Part 2 into the top 50. 

Need I say more?

Anyway, going back to Disney...

Where would Peter Pan be without Captain Hook? Cinderella without her psychotic step family? Simba without Scar? Kuzco without his llama face???

You get the point.

But really. Let's think about this. Of course everyone knows that yin and yang have to go together. That without the bitter there is no sweet and all that fun stuff. But how many times does that come into our minds when all the crap in life is going on? Disney was probably one of the first to show me that conflict and craziness is part of life. Not only is it part of life, but really, without it you don't have much of a story. Every Disney hero/heroine has to go through a difficult journey or task. Without it, their story remains untold. Without it, no Disney princess may have ever found her prince. And Pacha's family would have had to move to Bolivia. 

So enjoy the fact that you get to have the journey at all. Be grateful for the mess ups and trials that make up your life. Can you imagine how boring your story would be without them? Stress, tension and conflict: that's what kicks starts the adventure. So go with it. 

Because no one wants to make it to heaven without at least some kind of story to tell. 

BFF

Let's talk about The Fox and the Hound. Simply because that's a Disney movie that I don't think gets very much attention, and I'm all for the underdog!

Get it - HOUND, underDOG??

Okay, moving on...

You know what Fox and the Hound taught me? Sometimes you'll encounter people in life that, at first glance, seem like they're just waaay too opposite from you to be worth your time. But if you actually give that person a chance, you might make a friend for life. They might end up being one of the funniest people you know. They might end up being that one friend that you call up to do crazy, random stuff with all the time. They might end up being someone that, years later, you can't imagine not having in your life. And you know what? They may be completely and totally different from you. 

Comfort is awesome.  In fact, I am a huge fan of comfort. But sometimes comfort gets in the way of living a richer life. Sometimes you have to just leave the comfort level and be open to meeting new people. People that are different than you. People that come from different backgrounds than you. 

I think it's fantastic that Disney made a point for Tod and Copper to meet as kids. It's an awesome reminder that the "little kid mentality" doesn't care about who "should" be in the circle of friends and you shouldn't be.

So - be accepting of people. Don't just go off the status quo. Go out and meet someone new and different. Because you never know where you'll end up meeting your next great friend.

"Life's one happy game."

The Happiest Place in Life

Passion. 

That's why people start stuff like this, right? Find something that you're passionate about and then share it with others so that some of that passion can rub off on them. Or so they can think about something in a way they never have before. Because sometimes the world seems to lack in that regard; in people truly LOVING something - you know, that one thing, or person, or idea or group. Days ago I had to honestly ask myself what I'm passionate about. 

It took a little more thought than you would probably expect. I wanted to be able to say something like sports or music or cooking, because those are specific and they're usually what you would think of in this kind of situation. And I do enjoy those things. In fact, I really do love music. It's one of those things that makes my day every day. 

But the answer I really wanted to give was life.

Can you do that? Can be passionate about something so broad? Can you be passionate about something that means completely different things to every person on this planet? Well, I've decided that you can. Because that's really the only way I can think of to describe it. I'm passionate about believing in a life that's worth living and a world that's worth exploring. I'm passionate about the feeling of creativity and freedom that you experience in childhood. 

In fact, I think childhood is awesome. I hope every person was able to experience a time in their life when they believed in anything because the world was socially obligated to let you do just that. And if not - if that time didn't happen for you then - I hope you're making it happen now. I hope you dare to believe in something, not because it's real, but because it makes you happy. Because it helps you be a better person. 

Life is an individual experience for everyone. No two lives are the same. But every life is worth living. Every person is worth believing in. As corny as that sounds. 

You know what else is corny and cheesy? 

Disney.

They've probably come up with some of the cheesiest lines/moments in television history. But you know what? 

Disney totally makes my life.

In all seriousness. 

When I was a kid, my family lived in Wyoming. We owned a TV but never had satellite or cable or anything so a lot of our time was spent either outside or watching Disney movies. My family can have entire conversations consisting mostly of movie quotes - particularly Disney. To some this might be considered weird. I, personally, love it. 

I'm not here to say that Disney gives perfect role models to little kids. Let's face it, Aladdin is a thief and Ariel sells a part of a her body to get a guy. And Disney movies have so many gender stereotypes, it's rather sad. But, to be completely honest, I was too young to catch any of that. So, instead, what I did catch was the good stuff. I learned it's OK to believe. And it's really OK to believe that there's a happily ever after even right in the middle of all the bad stuff. That's not stupid. That's not naive. That's choosing to be happy. 

Life is going to throw some pretty nasty stuff our way. If you haven't encountered at least one witch, evil uncle, or insane employer - then just wait. Because it'll come. But it's OK. Because each life is worth living. And the world we saw as little kids is still worth exploring. 

Disney is cheesy. And corny. And prone to be historically inaccurate. But it is one thing that continues to make me happy. Probably because I feel like a little kid again when I watch Disney movies - and little kids are really good at being happy. 

"Happiness is a state of mind."

~Walt Disney