100 Days of Wonder – #47
I don’t really need to write anything to go with this photo. The moon on the 14th November 2016 from the hotel window looking out towards Disneyland. For me it holds a calmness that is both joyful and reassuring and it feels like that’s what we all need to hang on to right now

100 Days of Wonder – #46

As I am currently in a hotel (quite a nice one with a big room and comfy bed), I am inevitably thinking about some of my favourite hotels.
Well. Will you look at this back wall above the headboard! This was our room at Disneyland in 2016. Not only was the picture brilliantly done, not only did it light up but you could also flick a switch and it would play you a music box version of ‘A Dream is a Wish your heart makes’. I still find joy in watching a video of it every now and again. The detail, the effort to create something magical and memorable and the commitment to making something as mundane as a hotel room special, not just comfortable and functional but also joyful… makes me smile!
100 Days of Wonder – #45
I think one of the things that is hard to explain is the calmness you can find at Disney World. This picture is from the sunrise over Bay Lake – the lake at the back of the Contemporary Resort. It was taken on 9th January 2023 at just before 7am. Of course Disney World is busy and I am sometimes amazed at how I cope with it. I am not great in big crowds generally. I don’t really like people. But I think Disney World taught me that you can create your now bubble in 2 ways. First you can really just create your own narrative and story and live that – it means it can feel like the only two people in the world are Kath and I doing our own thing even when there are literally thousands of others around us. Disney helps with that hugely because every interaction with a cast member makes you feel like you are the most important person in that moment. The second way is to soak up and find joy, wonder and stillness in those calm moments and places. On our last trip for me that was definitely encapsulated by the walk from our room in the Garden Wing of the Contemporary to the main Tower. At sunrise there was barely anyone else around but even during the day it was calm and quiet. A walk to get coffee became a mindset walk, a headspace stroll and time to breathe deeply and quieten any noisy unhelpful brain activity. Finding the same sort of bubbles is really powerful in our overly busy and noise lives – stay in your story and leave everyone else in theirs and soak up the stillness when you can.

