Wishing Upon Stars at Walt Disney World on New Year’s Eve

Because Jiminy Cricket wasn’t speaking in vain to a wooden toy…

Here’s how a New Year’s Eve fireworks show at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom — and a few wise words from Jimmy Cricket — taught that us it is okay to embrace the uncertainty and excitement of the new year.

The end of the year is a time of reflection for us. We think about all that has passed and imagine what could someday be. It is a time filled with nostalgia and memories. And while realistically, there are some memories we would rather forget, there are still those worth remembering and sharing. Those which remind us of the simple things, the ones for which we are children at heart. The lovely things that quietly dazzle us, because we believe in their magic.

And while it is natural for us to feel apprehensive about the future, it is still possible to approach it with a sense of wonder and wild expectation. To know that when the clock strikes midnight and when a new year begins…in that same spirit of dreams, newness, and magic, it’s okay to feel like a kid again. To embrace uncertainty. That no matter what has happened in the past or what our fears may be about the future,  all we have to do look up at the stars, make a wish, and whistle…that we might summon up the reassuring words of wise little Jimmy Cricket in Walt Disney’s classic film, Pinocchio (1940):

“Fate is kind…like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you through.”

If that is not reason enough to start anew, then I don’t know what is.

Happy New Year! May all your dreams come true.