I almost hesitate to sit down and right this tonight, but truth be told it’s been on my mind for hours. I had full intentions of calling it a night early tonight and going on to bed, but something kept me up. I kept mulling over this topic in my mind and while it was something I didn’t want to share, I knew I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t share it. Truthfully, it’s so far off topic from my usual Disney content at face value that I don’t even know exactly how I’ll share it out, but I know that if it provides value to even one person, it’s important enough to share.
Here’s what’s on my mind. It’s so easy in life (especially right now) to be negative and to look at everything as a barrier to be dealt with. I’m guilty of it just as much as anyone else and truth be told I was complaining just yesterday about how my traffic isn’t what it historically has been in the past this time of year (selfish, I know). That’s when I started to realize my priorities were all wrong.
You see, I started this site as a way to communicate with like minded people in this incredible Disney community and to add value to their vacation experience. Right now, that’s tougher than it’s ever been. However, it’s easier than it’s ever been to show the people you care the most about that you care about them. Let that sink in for a minute. Chances are, you’re steps away, a text message away, a social media message away, or even an arms length away from someone that means the world to you. Share that with them and tell them you care about them. It does make a difference. It truly does.
“How’s this relate to Disney?”… I’m glad you asked. I know I’m not the only one who goes to Disney to create memories with my family and at times it brings out the best in our relationships with people we care about the most. At the same time though, every day in life should be thought of as an opportunity to show people they mean something to us. Not to be grim, but despite anything that’s going on in the world around us, we’re never guaranteed what tomorrow holds for us as individuals. I don’t say that to share this hidden message of tomorrow being worse than today and all of society coming to a halt. Quite honestly, I don’t think I could ever say something like that in good conscience. Instead, I want to share this message because one of the greatest things we can do in life is find something to be happy about every single day.
Every. Single. Day.
So many of us have so many opportunities to be happy just by waking up in the morning and going about what we consider to be our routine lives. Somebody, somewhere, would adore the life any one of us are living today. That’s a lot to be happy for. I don’t say that to be this high and mighty “look at how I live my life” type of messenger, but rather quite the opposite. I suck at this. Honestly, I see it as one of my biggest weaknesses. And you know what? That’s okay. We’re human beings and we aren’t always the most positive group. Heck, just flip on the TV this week (or any week for that matter).
For me in particular, I’ve started to try desperately to cling to this concept of a life of optimism. To be quite honest, I’m quickly realizing I’m not very good at it (lol). Nonetheless, I think it’s important to note. We can go through life looking at all the negativity and fall into this depressing picture of life, OR we can take a step back and look for any and everything positive we can find in our day to day life to be thankful for. Not every single day is going to be happy, BUT there’s something to be happy about every single day. *Re-read that last sentence*
No matter who you are, or what your past or current reality looks like, there is something to be happy about. Even if it’s simply the reality that you made it through the day. Think about this. A homeless person that lives on the street and collects coins is still happy at some point during their day. When a strangers coin or dollar bill hits their jar that’s something I’m going to guess they’re pretty beyond happy about.
My friends, none of us are facing that kind of tiny silver lining level of happiness in our lives (if you are, I’m not sure how you’re reading this). Nonetheless and even if you are, please realize that someone appreciates you. That someone at the moment might just be me. If you stopped by here to read this article, I appreciate that more than you know. Seriously, it means the world. Even beyond that though, we have so much to be happy about in life.
I say all this with a certain level of reality too. Our lives aren’t perfect. We all struggle. We all have hard days. We all have those times when everything is going wrong. Be it a divorce, be it a lost friend, be it something completely unexpected that tears us apart from the inside out emotionally, please remember there’s always something to be happy about.
Maybe that’s why Walt Disney and his story has always meant so much to me. He had this inherent sense of optimism that very few can fully capture in life. He faced the potential loss of everything. His business, his finances, and so many other things were tested, but optimism and hope always won out over everything else. Walt had optimism in the face of adversity. He had vision when others doubted. He kept focus on the future and what happiness he could create for so many, and that optimism created something we all appreciate day in and day out. It’s the Disney movies we watch, the parks and resorts we visit, and even these Disney online communities we’ve come to love and appreciate.
Remember that piece of unspoken advice Walt shared with so many of us through his story. Remember it when you’re about to gripe about something negative this week (I know I’ll probably catch myself more times than I can count) and realize that it’s normal to be frustrated but that every single day there’s something happy and something to be thankful for. You just have to divert your mind to it time and time again.
Why I wanted to share this late night message tonight, I’m not entirely sure. However, I’m glad that I did and at the very least, it’s another day of content and hopefully something that brings a little bit of joy into your life in one way or another. If today’s been rough, hang in there, because tomorrow is a new opportunity.
-Collin
