Which Carousel of Progress Philosophy Is Right?

As you may already know from my post, 5 Overlooked Attractions, I love the Carousel of Progress. Many of you, who are a little bit older than me, remember a time when the Carousel of Progress was just a little bit different than it is now, the main difference being the theme song. For decades, the theme song for this attraction was “The Best Time of Your Life”, whereas now, the song is “Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow”. In this post, I would like to ask you an important question: Which philosophy should we live by? Now is the best time of your life or there’s a great big beautiful tomorrow?

History-

Before we get into the “Life lesson” part of this post, allow me to clear something up. I have heard people lament the change of song. Some people do not like ANY change happening in Disney, and I have heard people say that they miss the original song “The Best Time of Your Life”. The truth is, this was not the original song. The Sherman Brothers had originally written “Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” to be the theme for that attraction, believing that it captured the spirit of the attraction and the spirit of Walt himself. When the sponsors (General Electric) heard the song though, they did not like it and requested a new song to be written for the attraction, fearing that a focus on the future instead of on the “here and now” would encourage people to hold off on buying their products for a later time. The Sherman Brothers then came up with “Best Time of Your Life” to take its place. In 1986, General Electric dropped its sponsorship, which led to a refurbishment in 1994 and a restoration of the original song, the song that Walt originally wanted, “Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow”!

Life Lesson

So which philosophy is right? Should we live in the here and now or be focused on the future? I believe that the correct answer to that is BOTH:

Now truly is the best time of your life, and the song puts it very well, “Yesterday’s memories may sparkle and gleam, tomorrow is still but a dream, right here and now you’ve got it made, the world’s forward marching and your in the parade”. The truth is, we look back on yesterday with fond memories, but that is all they are, memories. You are not living in the past, you are living in right now, the present. The song even goes further and explains that even on bad days, now is the best time of your life, “Now is the time, now is the best time, be it a time of joy or strife”. The lesson from this song is simple: Even on bad days, the bad days are still the present and the present is better than living in the past. We are moving forward, and the only way to move forward is by partaking in the present every day. So yes, now is the best time of your life. And the same will be true tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. There is one downside to living “in the now” though, and that is that what we do “in the now” affects what happens tomorrow. That is why we ought to also live by the philosophy…

There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow. The Hedonist says, “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry. For tomorrow we die,” but the problem with that is that tomorrow you may not die, you could, but you may not. The actions of today have consequences on tomorrow. That is why it is so important to always remember that there is a great big beautiful tomorrow. Walt Disney believed that the future was bright, he believed in the march of progress and he understood that the future was made up of individual days in the present, that was why he was such a man of action. We always talk about how much of a dreamer Walt was, but he was much more than a dreamer, he was a DOER. A dream without actions will forever only be a fantasy.

Here is the big lesson today: Take actions every day that work toward progress. Every day do something that moves you forward. A lot of people wallow in stagnation or dwell on the past, but the world is forward marching and you are in the parade whether you like it or not. Pretty much, I just used a ride at Disney World to say in a round about way something that I have already posted on and a favorite quote of mine from Walt Disney: Keep Moving Forward!

Which of the two is your favorite song on Carousel of Progress? Let me know in the comments! Better yet, answer the poll!

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Snow White and the Power of Kindness

Quick, name all of the seven dwarves! If you can name all 7, good for you. I’m sure that most people would forget one or two of them though. But no matter who you are there are likely three dwarves that you did not forget: Doc (because his name is so different from everybody else’s), Dopey (because he is adorable), and last, but certainly not least, Grumpy. The only word to describe Grumpy is… well, grumpy! He is always annoyed by everybody, always has a negative thing to say, and really puts a dark cloud on everybody else's day. But by the end of the movie we see that Grumpy has a soft spot for Snow White. Several times we are shown that he truly cares about her, that he would rush to save her life, and that he would be quick to shed a tear at her glass coffin. How did a dwarf that was characterized by his grumpiness end up becoming soft and actually liking Snow White? A very simple answer: Kindness. That is the lesson for this post: Kindess diffuses people.

I am certainly not saying that everyone will always love you if you are a kind person, but I am saying that most people will like you more often when you are a kind person. The truth is, most people today are so consumed with themselves or too suspicious of those around them that they are unwilling to practice kindness, but on the flip-side of that, everybody is yearning for someone to show kindness to them. Snow White did not win over Grumpy because she was the fairest one of all, but because she was kind hearted.

Speaking of that, what made Snow White the fairest one of all? Disney intentionally made the Wicked Queen to look stately and beautiful, yet Snow White was the fairest one of all. I believe that it was not Snow White’s looks that made her attractive so much as it was her kindness. I have known a lot of people who are physically attractive that are mean people, and I have met a lot of less physically attractive people who are filled with kindness. I’d rather spend time with the kind person any day! And that’s how Snow White was, sure, she was beautiful, but more importantly, she was kind. 

It is very difficult, not impossible, but very difficult, to hate someone who is kind to you. And most of the time, those people who hate those that are kind to them cannot find a very good reason for feeling that way. Grumpy did not like Snow White at first… he didn’t like anyone at all! But the more time he spent with her, the more kindness she showed him, the more he put his guard down, and the more he liked her.

Let me challenge you with this thought. You need to be the kind of person that when you walk in a room, everyone in the room becomes happier. We all know people that bring a dark cloud with them everywhere they go. Their presence brings stress and angst. Everyone is uncomfortable and enjoying themselves less when they walk in. You need to decide to be the person that when you walk in every is a little happier, the room is a little more at peace. You do that by being a kind person.

Here are a few simple but important things to do to show kindness:

• Smile at people- A lot of people feel better when someone gives them a smile.
• Talk less about yourself and listen to others- If you get nothing else out of this post, get this! If you are in a conversation with someone, the more you talk, the less likable you will seem. People will walk away from that conversation thinking that you talk to much. Instead, allow them to do most of the talking. When you do that, those people will think that they had a great conversation with you. Kind people are often listening people.
• Remember- remember details from conversations that you’ve had. Remember what they’ve said about their work frustrations, remember their name, remember the name and breed of their dog. When you come back to that person later on with a good memory of the past conversation, you will be seen as kind.
• Be a servant- Do nice things for people, expecting nothing in return. Make a meal for someone who just had surgery, write a letter to someone who is going through a hard time. Treat people the way that you would like to be treated.

A kind person is often able to diffuse even the grumpiest of people. Determine to be kind.

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Mr Toad and the Dangers of Impulsive Actions

“We’re going merrily on our way to nowhere in particular.”

The Mr. Toad feature was put together with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, to make Disney’s 11th feature “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” in 1949. From 1943 to 1949 Disney did not make feature length stories, but instead made what was called “package” movies, in which several different stories were lumped together to form a feature length motion picture. Most of the movies of this era have not stood the test of time, I fondly remember watching Fun and Fancy Free (1947) on VHS as a kid, but other than that, not many of these are remembered. The Three Caballeros, the most famous of this era, is still relatively unremembered. Ichabod and Mr Toad was the final film of this era before Disney went back to feature stories with Cinderella in 1950. Mr Toad did well in the box office and was publicly and critically acclaimed but has not stood the test of time. Truthfully, the only reason why many people know who Mr. Toad is goes back to the ride that was in Disneyland and Walt Disney World called “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride”. As of today, the ride is still operating in Disneyland, but was closed in Walt Disney World and replaced by “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” in 1998. It is sad to say that there are likely many Disney fans who do not know who Mr. Toad is, has never seen the movie, and have never rode on the ride.

Because of the relative obscurity of this movie, I want to be as clear as possible. Mr Toad is based off the book “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame. The premise of the movie is that Toad purchases a stolen motor car, without knowing it was stolen, by giving the weasels the deed to Toad Hall. The police catch Toad and arrest him for stealing a motor car. In court, the bartender who Toad bought the motor car from lies under oath and claims that Toad did, indeed, steal the car and was trying to sell it to him. Mr. Toad is thrown in jail. The rest of the movie is about Toad escaping from jail and claiming back Toad Hall with the help of his friends Rat and Mole. Of course, that is an oversimplified version of the story, I suggest anyone that has not seen it to buy it, it is money well spent. When I watch this movie though, I am infuriated by Mr. Toad. I can tell that they are trying to make him seem like, at least, a somewhat endearing character, but he is VERY flawed. Mr. Toad had a problem that McBadger explained by calling “manias”. Toad would get obsessed over things (riding with a horse and a gypsy cart and driving a motor car) to the point where he did not think rationally. When Toad was in the tavern, he saw this motor car and wanted to buy it, not having any money, he decided to give the deed to his house…let me stop there, his MANSION… in order to have this car. If Toad had stepped back for a moment and had thought this idea through, he would have quickly realized that this was not a very good idea. He would have said, “Well, thanks for the offer, fellas! But I can find a much cheaper motor car elsewhere!” if he had thought it through. What was the problem? Toad acted out of impulse.

The biggest mistake of Toad’s life could have been avoided if he had just thought before he acted. As I was preparing for this life lesson, I tried to find good quotes on the dangers of acting impulsively. I was shocked and dismayed how many people (particularly the “all-wise” movie stars) say that acting impulsively is a good thing. I am here to tell you today, no it is not! I have found in my life that the worst decisions I made I did when I did not think it through. I end up saying or doing things that will come back and bite me when I do not think through the longterm consequences or benefits from my action. There are some decisions in life that are worth winging or acting impulsively, for example, where to eat dinner tonight, paper of plastic, what movie should I get at the Redbox (answer: always a Disney movie!) but there are other decisions where we must proceed with caution and deliberation: who should I marry? How should I respond to this person’s behavior? What should I study in school? Should I make this large purchase? I have met people burdened down by the burden of making an impulsive financial or relational decision, and they wish that they could go back. Very often I counsel people, I have found that the biggest regrets that people have are over decisions that they either did not think through or did think through and went with the wrong decision anyway.

Going “merrily on your way to nowhere in particular” is an endearing behavior if you are simply going for a Sunday afternoon drive, but do not make that phrase your motto for life. Impulsiveness will lead to a train wreck (subtle reference to Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, for those who rode it!)

The Bible says, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” What is the point? Do not make rash, impulsive decisions, especially over matters of great importance, or else you will find yourself later on down the road in a heap of trouble.

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