But over the years of going to the parks, the pixie dust of the Magic Kingdom has a way of working its way into your DNA. The catchy tunes and constantly cheerful people start to wear you down. As the Borg would say on Star Trek, "Resistance is futile." (Which is another whole blog post for some other time).
For me, it was, is, and will be the music that has drawn me into Disney. In High School, I can remember taking dates to see Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. I fully accept that these films have their flaws. They can play on unhelpful, hurtful stereo types of men saving women and cultural racism as well. But nothing is ever perfect. I have appreciated how the films have tried to evolve over the years. I particularly enjoyed a more recent film, Moana about a Pacific Island tribe and a princess preparing to take over.
Most Disney films are a variation on the theme of trying to find your identity...which is something that plays very well in modern day American. We are all trying to sort ourselves out, answer question, "Who am I?" The shift from a world where you were a farmer because your father was a farmer and your grandfather was a farmer...to today when we have to construct our identity. Too often today it is in advertisement and consumerism that we are told we can purchase our sense of self - prepackaged on a shelf. The shift from a world where you lived in the same town your whole life with your family....to today where we are all part nomadic. I live a state where the roots don't run that deep, most of us have all been transplanted here.
This is Moana's (the lead character's struggle). She finds herself wedged between parent's expectations to continue the traditions and what her heart tells her to do. I think we all identify with that to some extend. As Iowan who has come to love the sea - the far horizons that are not filled with endless fields of corn. As an Iowan who has come to sense the truth of the line of poetry, "The sea is so vast and my ship is so small." This title song from the musical sings to my soul. I invite you to listen for the ways these words can sing to you.
I am particularly taken by the middle verse that goes, I know everybody on this island, seems so happy on this island/Everything is by design/I know everybody on this island has a role on this island/So maybe I can roll with mine/I can lead with pride, I can make us strong/I'll be satisfied if I play along/But the voice inside sings a different song/What is wrong with me?"
I may not have written these words, but they have been written on my heart. We are all called to roll with the roles we've been assigned...but can find a restlessness. My hunch is that this is true not only today, but I am sure some of our ancestors struggled with not wanting to be farmers. I am sure several farm wives longed for a different kind of life. St. Augustine would write, "Our hearts are restless until we find rest in Thee." It is my prayer that in this season of Lent we will be willing to explore the horizons of faith. I pray we will take leaps of faith that might take us in new directions. And that the restlessness that swirls, stirs in us all, might find more than a trace of God's grace in these forty days.
May God bless you and grant you a Holy Lent.
Grace and peace ~~
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