Disneyland is referred to as “The Happiest Place on Earth”; although it could be argued that it is tied for the happiest place on earth with Disney World with a close second to Euro Disney… Euro Disney is a step below because it’s half French. I’m not saying English people are happier… we are, but that’s because we don’t have strange accents over vowels and ingrained sexism in our words since French words are either masculine or feminine and quite possibly a little gay and a lot pretentious, but the latter is more a European thing and not so much a French thing (pretentious Englishman) “I am from England.” (pretentious Frenchman) “I am from France. My nose is higher up in the air than yours.” (pretentious Englishman) “My nose is bigger than yours.” (pretentious Frenchman) “Ah, oui, oui.” (pretentious Englishman) “Do you have to go to the bathroom?”
Is Disneyland really the happiest place on earth? When I was there last summer I was certainly giddy: “I’m at Disneyland! Time to meet me a princess.” The day was a lot of fun, but I’m kind of a child. I was all excited to be there and my buddy was like (friend in calm voice) “Nice.” Yes, I went to Disneyland with another man. We had gone to Vegas and on the last day I was able to convince him to go to Disney with me… no, I’m not gay… yes, I have been asked that question many times… and with good reason. I later heard Jim Gaffigan, a famous comedian, joke about how men only go to Disney because they’re forced to go. If they’re not forced, they’re really creepy. That being said I guess I’m either gay or creepy… I don’t think people would argue either title for me. Either way, I’ve loved Disney since I was a child, which is partly because I was only allowed to watch Disney made movies until I was a teenager, so I have a lot of nostalgic connections. That, and from a performance standpoint, Disney knows how to put on a good show. On top of this, I had the privilege of working at the Disney Store and they’re brilliant when it comes to marketing and sales. They know how to sell… that’s also a warning: (confused buyer) “Why do I feel I have to buy this stuff I don’t need or want? Oh right, I’m in Disney.”
But is Disney the happiest place on earth? For me it is. (Doubtful person) “But Chad if it’s so happy why are so many kids crying?” Yeah, isn’t that great? I’m not a monster. I don’t hurt kids… on purpose anyway. I’m not like (whack) “Come on, cry… yes, job complete; happiness felt.” But seeing kids cry makes me feel so good because they’re not mine. Sure, I want to have kids one day, but seeing parents frustrated makes me feel not so bad for my inability to grow up and have a family of my own: (disgruntled parent) “Why are you crying? We’re at Disneyland. What more could you want?” In actuality I think I saw more parents crying than kids, but that’s understandable with the food prices there. I bought an apple for $3. An apple’s worth like 40 cents in a store. You’d think I’d be angry, but it was actually fun because whenever I bought something I would make sure I stood behind a dad with five kids and watch the horror of feeding 7 people: (both the father and I in unison) “It’s how much?” (father) “That’s ridiculous.” (me) “That’s hilarious… I’m so glad I’m here with another guy and being questioned whether I’m gay or creepy instead of having children with me. It’s so much cheaper this way.”
This leads to my lesson this week… no, I’m not suggesting you go to Disneyland and make fun of parents with whiney kids… although it’s really fun. Disneyland is a place that’s super clean, the staff is very welcoming and there’s lots of great things to see and do. It really is a wonderful place, but even here people get frustrated and angry. Even at a place that is designed to be happy and fun ends up having people who are sad and disappointed. Thus, how you experience life is largely up to you. In the movie Happy (an excellent documentary) a psychologist teaches that happiness is 50% genetic, 40% choice and experience, and 10% circumstance. Only 10% is circumstance. That means 90% of how you experience Disneyland is out of their hands. They can only provide 10% of your enjoyment. The good news is our lives are more in our control than we often realize. Our lives are literally in our hands with 10% hanging out of them. Knowing this, I put before you the true choice in life: how do you want to experience life? It’s your life; it’s your choice for how good or bad it ultimately is in both your choices for how to live and how you experience it.
This week may you begin to see that your life can be as beautiful as you want it to be simply by changing how you experience it.
Rev. Chad David, www.EmotionalSex.ca