Hello friends.
Dogentricks.com here, sitting in an internet cafe 5 minutes from my house because school is over and I have no internetNICE. Today I’d like to tell you about earth and it’s relative size. It’s actually quite a small world after all.
I went to Tokyo Disney Land last week with my wonderful girlfriend and had an absolute blast. We were there from the minute the gate opened in the morning until they kicked us out at 10:00. Rode more than a dozen rides, was blown away by a handful of incredible shows, and even had the time to relax in The Swiss Family Robinson treehouse.
Nice.
First impressions in being in Disney Land for the first time in nearly a decade. “LOL.” Why you ask, why would you laugh!? In Japan, as soon as the gates open at 8:00, a FLOOD of people rushes into the park looking to save a spot on their favorite ride. Now, when I say rush into the park, I mean it. Thousands of people – kids, middle aged salary men, young couples, all literally sprinting into the park at the same time, all anxious to experience the magic. So while I’m expecting to slowly soak up Disney Land, I suddenly find myself in the front seat of Splash mountain – at 8:05 AM. Quite different than the California experience, but very fun nonetheless.
So I’m walking through candy land with my girlfriend when she says, “You know, a lot of people don’t really like Disney Land. They say that it’s too commercialized.” And as I was watching the various shows throughout the day it seemed more and more like Disney was bloating itself. With lyrics such as “Mickey Mouse – the world’s best friend,” and “Miney, Miney, Miney, Miney, Miney…Miney” Granted the shows were all spectacular, I just couldn’t help but think to myself, “I wish there was more of a message – I wish the kid sitting next to me was hearing something rather than just the names of various Disney Characters.” At which point we lined up for “It’s a Small World After All.”
When I was a Child, Small World was always my least favorite ride. Not only was it the slowest ride in Disney Land, but it was also the…slowest…ride…in Disney Land. I stepped onto the boat with Risa and 10 months of experience living in a foreign country, completely unprepared for the beauty I was about to experience.
Ditch the commercialism, forget the boasting, soak up the love. “It’s a small world after all.” Hundreds of children from all over the world, all singing in unison. “It’s a small world after all.” Nothing but smiles, nothing but peace. I nearly started to cry as I finally realized the absolute joy and purity of the attraction that used to bore me to tears. Upon further research, I learned that Walt Disney created Small World at the request of President Eisenhower to promote worldwide peace. It’s my humble opinion, but I think he did a damn good job.
I’ll be leaving Japan in exactly one week. Yes, that’s correct. I have 7 days left in the land of the rising sun. I’ve had more out of this world experiences in 10 months than I ever dreamed possible and still have a couple blogs up my sleeve, but I’d like to write a pre-emptive conclusion to the most powerful year of my life.
A few days before going to Disney Land I went to a concert where a band called 大和 (Yamato) stole my heart. The main singer was a small, soft spoken man, but had the presence of a lion. He looked over the audience and made eye contact with me, letting out a slight smile. He then looked across the stage at Disco Volante, the band from Sweden about to play. He turned to the audience once more and gave a brief monologue that I’ll never forget.
Translated:
There is only one sky above us. Today we have people from all over the world gathered in this small, underground live house, but there is only one sky above us. Today we have Disco Volante, who came all the way from Sweden to play for us. Let us show our gratitude with a smile that can be seen all the way to Europe. There is only one sky above us. Today there are fans from all over the world gathered in this audience. And though we may be separated by distance, and though our faces may be different, our smile is the same, and there is only one clear sky above us.
And then he began to sing this.
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People are nice. No matter where you go, no matter who you meet, you’ll find that everybody has one thing in common – everyone wants to smile, everyone wants to laugh and just enjoy themselves. Over time the way people communicate and the means by which people divide themselves has become acute, but the dream of everyone on this planet remains the same – a smile. It isn’t money, it isn’t fame, it isn’t a new car. It’s a smile. It’s something can do at any time, and when you do it spreads to those around you.
To the readers of this site – today you have homework. Today you’re going to go out and make someone smile. Give someone you don’t know a genuine compliment from your heart. Be it their style, their haircut, or their posture, find something you like and let that person know. I guarantee it’ll make them smile, and I guarantee that you will feel absolutely fantastic knowing that you’ve made someone’s day just a little bit better. Share your results in the forum, I’m anxious to read : )
Train hard.