Happiness Where You Are

I am learning that you can count on Disney to create catchy songs with interesting (and thankfully, blogworthy) moral messages. I haven't seen Moana yet, but I've heard most, if not all, of its songs on Youtube, and I think I have a fair grip on at least the beginning of the plot. The title character, Moana lives on a Pacific island and is the daughter of the village chief. One day, she'll grow up to be the chief of the village, but she dreams of crossing the ocean instead. (Classic Disney, starring children and teenagers daring to go beyond the bounds set by their parents and society, but that's a blog post for another day.)

"Where You Are," which I'm pretty sure is the first song of Moana, features Moana's father making the argument for why she should stay on the island. Beside the fact that the village will need a leader, he argues that the island isn't a bad place to be. "We're safe and we're well provided," he says. "In time, you'll learn, just as I did, you must find happiness right where you are."

The reason I said Disney songs contain "interesting" moral messages rather than "good" moral messages is that I'm often not convinced of how true they are. I'm sure that "You can find happiness right where you are," as Moana sings later, but I'm not sure that you "must," as her father says.

First of all, you don't have to find happiness. It's completely optional. If you don't want to find happiness, that's your choice. But let's assume, for the sake of argument, that everyone wants to find happiness and that it's essential that they do. People still may not need to find happiness where they are. People can move. Circumstances can be changed. If you're not happy with your present circumstances, there's often something you can do about that. For example, Moana didn't really have to find happiness on her island. She could sail out and find happiness on another island.

However, that is sometimes not an option. Sometimes, we can't change or leave our present circumstances, and, in those cases, Moana's father's advice makes sense and Moana's realization is comforting. When we're locked into our circumstances, we would do well to make the best of things. Even when our circumstances are unpleasant and there's nothing we can do about that, we can still find happiness, and, for our own sakes, we must. We may not have to find happiness right where we are, but it's comforting to know that we always can, and we'd be happier if we did.

So, do we have to find happiness where we are? Technically, no. We can usually change our circumstances, and even when we can't, we don't really have to be happy. Strictly speaking, we don't have to find happiness where we are, but the good news is that we always can.