Barefoot ramblings of a geek dad

Disney is a happy place. Every member of staff impeccably smiles, waves and wishes an awesome day. We surf this wave of happiness until our faces can smile no more. Every so often the veil falls; and when it does it is a precious moment. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of Magic Kingdom this week, while walking in the flow of a massive Halloween fuelled crowd we past a member of staff whose smile had fallen, her eyes showed such sadness it stopped me in my tracks. Against this backdrop of uber happiness and celebration the sheer humanity of real feelings cut through the superficial to bring spiritual feet back to ground. Karl Marx’ claim that we create imaginary flowers to mask the chains of our oppression rings increasingly true the older I get. As I’m on holiday my personal chains are currently covered in the smiling faces of Walt’s creations. Happiness is a good thing. A thoroughly good thing in my opinion. Indeed Buddhism determines happiness to be the f...

Some people are morning people. They get up at first light and make the best of the day. Some people are night owls. They can party until late into the night, basking in the buzz of the moon. I’d like to be one or the other. In reality however I am neither. Just sat somewhere awkwardly in between.  I don’t like lying in bed until late. Something deep inside forces me to drag my tired arse out of bed at 7 am, to ensure we make the best of the day. The kids on the other hand have very different ways to kick off the day.  T is 11. We have to tell him the earliest time he is allowed to get out of bed. Left to his own devices I’m sure he’d be up at 4 am. Singing and running around the house like a loon.  I’d love to be like T. As it stands I need a coffee or two before I can admit to myself that this level of energy is even possible at this time of the day. D is 14. D wakes up around 8. She wanders into the kitchen and sits waiting for her bre...

It would be very easy to be critical of Disney and Magic Kingdom. So easy in fact that I have frequently and very openly criticised to my heart’s content. It promotes stereotypes to our children, commercialises dreams and is a shining beacon to excess. Walt has pre-packaged experiences so neatly and densely that it draws us away from the space and solitude our heart’s need to quieten the mind and experience life at a deeper level. Magic Kingdom also rocks!  I feel seriously conflicted. Wandering around the park this week I was struck by how much I was smiling. My cheeks hurt by the end of the day. Disney has an exceptional ability to make me see the world as a three year old. Every princess makes me want to sing, every monster makes me boo. Every person in the park is my best friend. Queuing for rides is a delight in community.  Time spent chatting with the kids. Seeing the laughing and smiling faces of a thousand young children, all high on the expect...

Aren’t the old meant to understand more? Old and wise, that is what we were promised. As for me. 48 and clueless; and all the wiser for it. Let’s start with the big stuff; we should always start with the big meaty stuff, especially when faced with a Sunday roast.  Faith, God, the big “why” we are all here, where we came from and where we return to. To quote Rob Bell, “the thing behind the thing behind the thing”. In my teens I radiated certainty.  The Church of England proclaimed the truth on a Sunday morning. I swallowed the bread, wine and doctrine and was thankful. If I lived well I’d make it to heaven when I died. Deferred joy and no need to grow or challenge myself in any spiritual sense.  Then came the messiness of life and choices and other people’s views, eloquently argued. Certainty waned, replaced by a hunger to find something more substantial. I needed the chewy meat of roast chicken to replace the broth of my youth. Like a blunderin...

11000m, 529 mph,  4 hrs 50 mins  to destination somewhere over the Labrador Sea Flying always brings back the eternal truth that above the clouds the sun is always shining. Life at ground level shows occasional glimpses of the sun; in between the life giving drama of rain, the bitting wind of a winter storm and the sheer brain numbing mundanity of grey cloud filled days in London. The joy of childhood is the ignorance that life is so very complex and unpredictable.  Even the most unhappy childhood is lit by the promise of the perfect adult life; away from these rules and controlling people. A life of freedom and having just enough. My own childhood dreams were exceptional only in their lack of aspiration. I dreamt of being a dentist, working in my surgery during the day and retiring upstairs in the evening to watch TV in a room above. Anything to escape the chaos and lack of control that I riled against as a growing boy.  I was born into a loving ...