What I learned from Pixar's 'Soul'
At the beginning of December, my boyfriend and I took a little weekend trip to San Diego. While we were there, we visited an adorable restaurant called Salunto located in little Italy. Because of Covid, all the restaurants in the area had moved their seating outdoors under tents and it gave the streets an old world community feeling which I loved. As we walked the streets trying to find the right restaurant to try out, we passed by people out eating under the stars and in tents and it was all just so romantic.
As we walked we were stopped by a man named Bernie who began to tell us about how great the food was at Solunto. We liked him so we stayed and chatted with him for a while and he had my full attention as he shared his thoughts and wisdom with us. He told us that he could tell we had something beautiful, that he could see it in our eyes. As he sipped his red wine, he also talked to us about how sweet love is, how short life is and how it’s all meant to be really enjoyed and experienced.
I was reminded of him tonight as I was watching Soul with my kids, a new movie put out by Pixar. In Soul, Joe goes through quite a journey ( I won’t get into it here because I want you to watch it!) and in the end he discovers what Bernie shared with us that night- life is meant to be lived and every moment should be valued and enjoyed.
After my kids and I watched it, we talked about what we got from the movie. Even my youngest picked up on the lesson and said “that life is meant to be really lived.” It is all too easy to get caught up in focusing on the wrong things. We pursue dreams, goals, money, success, etc… None of that is bad. Not at all. As a matter of fact, I regularly encourage people to pursue their dreams. But sometimes we hold off on really living until we reach those goals or obtain those things. That’s a serious mistake because life is beautiful but it’s also short. It flys by. And if you’re too busy looking at the goal, you’ll miss the journey and all that God has for you in the here and now.
God has a world of joy, meaning, purpose, and love for you to experience. So be present, breathe deeply, and feel the joy.