Have to

The other day I sent out this simple tweet: “Pondering the implications of adding ‘have to’ to my view of responsibility. Someone else will clean it up vs someone else will have to…” Since then I have not been able to shake this simple thought from my mind and I think it may warrant some more attention. It really is a simple shift in thinking, but I feel like its one of those “profundity wrapped in simplicity” things, like a Shakespearean sonnet in a fortune cookie. I was going to say one of Shakespeare’s plays, but then I realized the print would have to be so small nobody could read it, and that’s not profound at all. I suppose you could put it in a really big fortune cookie. But that would be weird. Regardless, I truly believe the act of incorporating “have to” into our daily thinking is one of the most simple yet complicated, easy yet difficult, quick yet time consuming things we can attempt.

Here’s what it looks like. In seemingly meaningless situations that we encounter everyday we pass over opportunities to be courteous, kind, responsible or generous because we assume (usually subconsciously) “somebody else will.” For example, I don’t need to stop and see if that person on the side of the highway needs help because somebody else will. It’s not a big deal if I leave my trash here. Somebody else will clean it up. I could cook up a thousand vague examples, but you get what I mean. If not, somebody else will.

But what if we add the tiny phrase “have to” to the end of those thoughts. If I don’t help that person somebody else will have to. If I don’t clean this up somebody else will have to. Those two simple words shift the responsibility in everyday, casual situations from other people to me. Instead of assuming someone else is responsible for something, what if we volunteer ourselves to be responsible? In a culture that despises the idea of personal responsibility, and especially among people who view certain acts and responsibilities as beneath them, adopting this view would be truly countercultural. It would be quietly radical. It would be a lot like Jesus. What this idea really boils down to is servanthood. Are we servants to others in daily invisible ways, or only in grandiose and theatrical ways? Are we willing to feel the responsibility of things that have not been named our responsibility? Or do we secretly and inwardly love the idea of being so important that others serve us?

I think the simply difficult addition of “have to” to our thinking is more Jesus-like than most realize. Why did Jesus wash his disciples’ feet? Because if he didn’t somebody else would have to. Why did Jesus choose the agony of God’s judgment on the cross? Because if he didn’t somebody else (me) would have to. Why did Jesus curse a fig tree that had no figs? Probably because he was really hungry. Ok, that one doesn’t fit here. But why did Jesus say he came to dwell among us? To serve, not to be served.

So I leave you with this final thought (JERRY! JERRY! JERRY! I wonder who will understand that reference). From now on try to look around you and be more aware of chances to engage in acts of kindness and service, not because it’s your job, but simply so someone else does not have to. That is true service.

Utilidors.

Some quick background info: It’s no secret that I am an enormous fan of Walt Disney…not so much the movies and cartoons, but the man himself. He created a company that to this day embodies the spirit of “if you can dream it, then you can do it.” Walt was a master at creating something from nothing and blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. He and his team of Imagineers constructed a physical location for the suspension of reality – Disneyland. Walt poured his heart and fortune into his park. He often said of Disneyland,”…it is not a museum.” In other words, his park should constantly be in a state of change and growth.

Once Disneyland was completed in an old orange grove in 1955, the loner park suddenly became neighbors with countless hotels, homes, and various businesses. Walt longed for space. Enter “the Florida Project.” Walt began buying up acres and acres of land in central Florida under pseudonyms to avoid skyrocketing costs. When it was all said and done, the Walt Disney Company owned 47 square miles (just over 30,000 acres) of Florida land…more than enough for every dream to be realized. Construction began in 1967 (one year after Walt’s death) on what would become the number one vacation destination on the planet – Walt Disney World.

If you’ve ever been to the Magic Kingdom (WDW’s signature park), you’ve undoubtedly taken a picture smack dab on Main Street U.S.A. infront of the most photographed building in the world, Cinderella’s Castle…you’ve walked around Adventureland and listened to African drumbeats…you’ve strolled around Frontierland with screams from SplashMountain in the distance…you’ve meandered around Liberty Square in the shadow of the Haunted Mansion…you’ve skipped around Fantasyland while allowing your inner 10 year-old to emerge…and you’ve marveled at the futuristic utopia that is Tomorrowland. But, were you aware that just below your feet is another city. Just a few feet below the magic is a network of tunnels stretching throughout the entire park transporting food, merchandise, characters, trash, and other “undesirable” eyesores unbeknownst to all guests. Think about it: have you ever seen a maintenance truck? Have you ever seen a cart taking off trash? Have you ever seen someone transporting boxes of food, clothing, toys, ANYTHING? No, because it all happens in the Utilidors.

Walt was all about magic. He wanted his audience to believe in make-believe. He wanted people to feel his reality. He wanted visitors to suspend their reality for a short period of time and accept his. The Walt Disney Company took this to a whole new level (pun fully intended) when they built the Magic Kingdom on the 2nd level with the Utilidors on the 1st level. They fully intend for their guests to never see a trash truck. The will never allow guests to see (spoilers ahead) Mickey without his mask. No unruly guest will ever be dragged out through the front gate for all to see. All hidden beneath the wonder that is the Magic Kingdom is the actual logistical source of sustainment that keeps the guest believing the magic and suspending their own reality. 

I wonder…does my life have a Utilidor? Is their a source of sustainment hidden beneath the surface of my life that allows me to be me? If I were to peel back the first layer and see what really goes on would I be amazed and overwhelmed? I have to admit that the idea of God is puzzling to me. I don’t understand Him. I can’t quantify or qualify His existence. Most of the time I feel like my faith is just an act. Truth be told – just like Fox Mulder, I want to believe. I want the magic. I want to be able to flow through life with child-like faith feeling the hand of God on my shoulder as He whisper’s words of encouragement, hope, and love. But, He never has and probably never will. What I am left with is the hope that somewhere in the Utlilidor of my life, Jesus is walking around carrying my hurts away, restocking my hope, planning my future, mending my broken heart, and looking out for me.

I wish I could write this with some giant piece of evidence that God is, that God loves, that God cares, but I can’t. Its in these moments where we have to believe that God is in the Utilidor doing the hard stuff so we can enjoy the magic.

Jesus, if you can hear me, I want to enjoy you and the magic you have for me.