It's a Small World...be happy

It’s a Small World…be happy

This week I was on vacation in Orlando, FL.  For ten days I didn’t leave the friendly confines of the 48 square mile, 27,000 acre - Walt Disney World Resort.  

It started with a buddy’s wedding that brought many of our closest friends together for four days in the place where we first met over a decade ago.  

As if things couldn’t get any better, I then met my entire family for what we called an “old fashioned family (Griswold) Disney vacation”.  What a great week of fun, magic, and memories we’ll hold on to for years and years.

While I’ve certainly entertained many thoughts and had time to ponder several things this week, I’ll share one thought here…

OneMoreStep Thought for this week:  It’s a Small World…often we’re caught up in the day-to-day, the stress, and the uncontrollable externalities that affect our ability to think clearly and positively.  We should focus on the important people in our lives like friends and family that we love, places or activities we enjoy, and simply the things about life that make us happy.

...our tour guide

My three-year-old nephew, Henry, was of course the centerpiece of our daily vacation itinerary this week.  When he first arrived at Walt Disney World he was a bit excited, nervous, and quite anxious about his surroundings.  Understandable.  

He’s only three years old, and with castles, parades, shows, attractions, beloved Disney characters roaming about waving, hugging, smiling, and hi-5-ing every Guest in sight…sensory overload is certainly an inevitable result for a little fella. 

I’m 32 years old and often suffer from the same issue – I’m quick to get excited, nervous, and/or anxious in certain situations.  Little Henry is only three.  In his first couple of days at Disney World his excitement, nerves, and anxiety led to fussing, crying, and moments of unhappiness. 

Then he found his happy place…

One happy little fella

We took Henry on the "it’s a small world" attraction…that changed everything.  From that moment on, Henry was either riding the actual attraction (smiling ear to ear and loving it), reenacting and singing the song from the attraction, or asking if we could go ride it again…all the while smiling, laughing, giggling, dancing, and in a state of utter happiness.

On the second or third trip “around the world”, as we cruised through It’s a Small World, I leaned over and asked my mom why Henry likes this attraction so much.  She replied, “It just makes him happy…”

I thought to myself…why couldn’t we all find our happy places…in our own lives?

A OneMoreStep for all of us…

Compare a three-year-old child’s sensory overload at Walt Disney World to our own situations – lives, careers, trials, and tribulations.  How often are we excited, nervous, and/or anxious about people, places, situations, outstanding projects at work, or life’s uncontrollable twists and turns?  Quite often. 

We should take a moment when we’re excited, nervous, and/or anxious and think about the people, places, or things in our lives that make us happy.  Focus on those things.  (Philippians 4:8...which essentially says,  “Think happy thoughts”.

Over a decade of memories...and still going strong

We all have big problems, big projects, big mortgages, big rent payments, big financial issues, and big goals…but remember at the end of the day, if we boil it down, peel the layers back, and think about what really matters…

We often realize that what we think are the big things really do pale in comparison to those few very important people, places, or things that mean the most to us.

My happy thoughts are my family, my friends, my church, and places like Walt Disney World/Disneyland, and they make me the happiest in life.  So when my nerves, excitement, and anxiety are getting the best of me, spending time with, talking to, or thinking about how much my closest friends and my family mean to me puts things in perspective.

What are your “happy thoughts”?  When nerves, excitement, and anxiety start to creep in, focus on those things that really matter…things that truly make you happy. 

The Fam...at "it's a small world"

When we do this we find that amidst all the “big” problems we have in our lives, only a select few things in the world really matter.  

It’s then that we realize that even though life can get tedious and problems seem big, it really is just a small world after all…so be happy.

Have a great day.

Taylor

Matt & Nini sporting Wildcats gear...also a happy thought