Can you imagine a world where the Disney fantasy of the Magic Kingdom was more than some sought-after dream?

There’s not a mean corpuscle in Mickey Mouse whose high-pitched voice is a reflection of a happy soul who loves to chuckle and share happily his mirth openly with no secrets to hide. Mickey wears his heart on his sleeve and wouldn’t it be a utopia if every human interaction was filled with the love of a heart?

We can do better than imagine.

I can think of examples and so can you. We all know the sacrifices that nurses, doctors, and hospital caregivers have given, given, and given to the point where it might be better to RECEIVE than to GIVE because so often that GIVE GAVE to losses that were and are heart-shattering.

Like the black entrepreneur who not only runs a very successful BBQ restaurant that has created jobs for his staff and the money to put food on their tables but also fixes broken cars so others not so fortunate has a RIDE to a place of employment. PRIDE and RESPECT are the by-products of his handiwork as a skilled mechanic.

Or how about all the hospital staff that cares for those caught up in COVID and grasping for a breath of air. Good people that are willing to put themselves in danger for the benefit of strangers they don’t even know but nonetheless cherish as fellow Americans in need.

And it hasn’t just been the adults. The children have humbled us at times with their quest to help, to raise nickels and dimes that turn into dollars that aid those in need during the PANDEMIC.

And let’s not forget the contributions of those who are OLD themselves and go out of the way to be there – to care for those in need like the staff at The Community Day Center of Downers Grove – many of them over 65 – committed to treating their contemporaries saddled with cognitive and physical disabilities with nothing less than HEART. CADC has been doing that for 35 years and makes a huge impact on the life of those they care for but also for the caregivers who know they can leave their beloved with people who know how to GO DO GOOD.

The PANDEMIC has been BAD for all of us and yet, for those that still are among the living it has given us all an opportunity to not only cherish our own health but also that of our neighbors. It is amazing the stories of courage that we have heard during this very difficult time. It is the worst of times but for those that listened to the science, it might in some ways be the BEST of times.

There is nothing worthy about taking life for granted. If we’re smart we ALL should want to live in the PRESENT and glow with the tickle humor that makes us feel so warm when we hear Mickey Mouse’s chortles and chuckles.

That MOUSE knows how to live so let’s not disappoint him and let’s LIVE each day aware that it might be our LAST. Laughter and lots of it along with love, good food, and shelter; the JOYS that some of us get to live.

If it was up to Mickey Mouse – everyone in his kingdom could be certain that such JOYS would be shared by all. That’s a BIG HEART that beats with the ebb and flow of life and the love of being ALIVE from one that knows how to GO DO GOOD.

That’s truly a magic kingdom that Mickey and his devoted followers make a way of life in the world of make-believe.

BELIEVE and they will come.