I love Disney. I always have and I always will. I have always been a girly girl who loved romance, princesses and princes who save the day. And although there are a lot of things that these movies might convey that aren’t exactly true… here are some things that Disney taught me about life.
1. Snow White taught me about kindness. Just look at the way that she interacts with animals and dwarves alike. She is kind to the depth of who she is. And so it doesn’t shock me that the mirror finds her to be the fairest of them all…. for Snow White’s beauty went beyond her physical appearance, but her beauty started in her soul. To be the fairest of them all you can’t just look pretty, your heart has to be pure and kind as well.
2. Cinderella taught me about enjoying work. Cinderella was pretty much a servant who had to clean up after her step siblings and step mom. I’m assuming that wasn’t the most glamorous job out there but if you watch the movie as she is cleaning she is joyfully singing. Sometimes you have to do things in life that aren’t very fun. Cinderella taught me to have the best time that I can have no matter what I’m doing. To dance and sing and be merry no matter what I am doing!
3. Tangled taught me that adventure is worth it. If you stay safe and hidden then you miss out on the truth that is just outside your door step. It’s okay to be cautious, to think and plan things out but in the end you just have to go for it. There will be moments where you are singing merrily with complete strangers and other moments where it feels like you are running for your life but in the end when you look back at it all you will be glad that you did it. Go for it, maybe at last you will see the light!?!
4. Brave taught me about honoring my parents. Merida defied a custom and brought chaos to their kingdom. She was born a princess but with the heart of an adventurer. It’s good to be who you were created to be but often our parents have been given wisdom that we don’t have. If we honor them as we attempt to live out who we were created to be then we will be able to navigate the life we were born into along with the person we were created to be together.
5. Sleeping Beauty taught me that sometimes sleep is needed. Just kidding. But seriously ;) Actually Sleeping Beauty was my least favorite Disney Princess growing up, why? Because I always thought it was boring and the dragon scared me. But the one thing that stands out to me are the three fairy sisters, or at least I assume they are sisters. I’m the youngest of three girls and those fairies taught me that sometimes it takes more than one to get the job done. In the end it was the prince who defeated the freaky dragon lady but it took the courage of three sisters to take care of Aurora for most of her life. When tough times come, don’t try to do it on your own because life is better together.
6. Pocahontas taught me about the beauty of differences. John Smith was white and Pocahontas was a Native American. Not only did they look different but they thought different, they spoke different and they lived differently. They came from different worlds with different values. And yet, they were willing to fight for a chance to make it work. Just because something is different doesn’t mean it is wrong or ugly or bad. It is just different and there is beauty to be found in that.
7. Hercules taught me that it’s okay to take second chances. Megs got into her prickly predicament because she fell in love and she didn’t want to go through that pain again. Understandable because a broken heart is pretty painful. But Herculues taught me that sometimes you need to take a risk to love again. Love of any kind, romantic, familial or platonic. Sometimes we get so hurt by the different types of love that we decide we won’t let anyone near us or we only let them know a side of us. Hercules teach us that it’s okay to take a second chance at love in all spheres of your life. Ask Megs, I’m pretty sure she would say that it was worth it.
8. Disney taught me that Love requires sacrifice. In EVERY Disney movie love requires sacrifice. Why? Because no greater love is there than this, that a man would lay down his life for a friend…. whoa! Crazy, right? Disney goes biblical on that one. But it’s true and it is one of my favorite aspects of what Disney teaches, that love whether it is romantic,familial or platonic requires but is also worth sacrifice. Sometimes the sacrifice is small and sometimes it is large. Sometimes it requires facing your fear, facing death and other times it is walking away from convenience. Love requires but more than just requires, love is worth sacrifice.
9. Disney taught me that Love always triumphs over hate. I’m strange in that I get really sad whenever the evil character becomes consumed by hate. It’s my nature to become a part of the story and so I imagine that I am in the story and if I’m in the story then that person is real and well no person is born to hate. Hate happens to a person… something has to happen to a character for them to become full of hate. And that is what makes me sad. The unknown that takes them to hate. But just as love requires and is worth sacrifice. Love also triumphs over hate; a willing sacrifice breaks hate. Hate is darkness but selfless, sacrificial love is a beacon of light that no darkness can erase.
And finally, 10. Disney taught me that Hope is stronger than fear. No matter the amount of evil, hate or fear, hope is stronger than them all. Hope is something to hold onto when fear says that there is nothing but despair for you. In all Disney movies there is hope and it is that hope in the face of fear, trials, evil and pain that triumphs for Hope is stronger than fear.
I know that there are many more things that Disney taught me as that was a majority of my childhood. The magical feelings that came with watching as good triumphed over evil and as love always lived in the end. As I’ve grown older I’ve asked myself if these are good messages to teach in a world full of hard times and messed up marriages. But I think yes, that it is in light of all the wrong in the world that we must cling to these truths. We must cling to the truths of love, joy, kindness, truth and hope in the midst of darkness for, “Hate is darkness but selfless, sacficicial love is a beacon of light that no darkness can erase.”
What did Disney teach you about life?
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