Yesterday I had a Disneyland day.
I grew up in Los Angeles. Disneyland was only a 45 minute drive away, so we tended to go quite often; maybe several times a year. So I guess I’ve probably been there about two or three dozen times. The joy of going to Disneyland is permanently etched into my brain. And it evokes very good feelings.
I have very fond memories of entering through the gates, seeing the old fashioned steam train rolling by on a hill covered in flowers spelling out the word Disneyland in bright colors. Then walking up main street USA. The excitement of all the interesting shops and things happening. Old fashioned jalopies and horse drawn wagons drive by. Musicians and Disney characters wander about. Just thinking about it puts me in a great mood.
I was thinking about that while riding my motorcycle into work yesterday. The weather was beautiful. We’ve had a lot of rain, so things are unseasonably green around here. It was a beautiful drive on a beautiful day in a beautiful city. I had to stop while the train went by. The question occurred to me: “Why don’t I feel the same way right now?”
Austin is full of interesting things. I work a block off of Congress, in view of the Capitol building. There are lots of interesting shops all over downtown. People in bicycle rickshaws, amphibious buses, horse drawn carriages, human powered mobile bars, and wandering bands of tourist on seques routinely drive by. And in the evening there is music everywhere.
It occurred to me that there really wasn’t much of a reason to feel less excited about my ride to work than I felt walking through the gates of Disneyland. It was really just a matter of perspective; the result of letting myself fall into a numb routine where I stopped seeing all the beautiful and interesting things in my day to day life. “Going to Disneyland” was like hitting the reset button, and helps me to see things fresh, even those things that I’d seen dozens of times before.
I resolved right then and there to try to see everyday like I was going to Disneyland.
I hope you have yourself a Disneyland day, too!