I can’t! So, I found myself watching Peter Pan with my little cousins over break this year.
I marveled at the deep symbolism that flew right over my head when I was younger; it honestly seemed like a whole new movie.
I watched Wendy try to ignore the voices that told her it was time to grow up. I watched her travel through her imagination to a magical place. But she knew that she couldn’t stay; it wasn’t reality. So, she traveled back home and bravely faced her future.
In many ways, Wendy reminds me of myself.
This year has brought a lot of change, a lot of firsts, and a lot of growing up. Each milestone this year has slipped right by, and now that the year’s over, I’m left wondering how I’ve gotten to this point.
You see, before now, I’ve never wanted to slow down time. I was excited to be 5, but 6 seemed more fun. 15 was great, but 16 would be better. I’ve become acutely aware that someday if I’m lucky, I’ll turn 85. And maybe 16 will seem more fun.
Now, I want special moments to last just a little bit longer. And with that yearning, I’ve come to realize that it’s not up to my discretion. With all of my stubborn pride, I still can’t will the clock to tick slower.
As I watched the golden pirate ship fly back to London, I realized: I’m just as much Hook as I am Wendy.
Whether in the belly of an alligator or the deep corners of my mind, I too fear the sound of a clock ticking away, reminding me that this day, this year, will be but a passing memory.
Hook is the villain, yes, but he’s only a bad guy in Neverland. It is here that Hook comes face to face with Peter Pan: the child-like part of us that doesn’t want to grow up. Peter is constantly at war, dueling, with Hook: the part of us that knows we can’t stay young forever.
And we must understand: while Hook is haunted by the inescapable tick tick ticking of time, he still stands true to the principle that being eternally naive is worse than hearing the clock in your head, every minute of every day.
Maybe I’m giving the pirate more credit than he deserves, but I think that Hook knows we only have so much time on this Earth. And he wants the lost souls of Neverland to hear the ticking of time because as haunting as it is, and it is haunting, it also opens the door to wisdom.
When we know that we can’t slow down the everpresent ticking, maybe we can enjoy every fleeting second for exactly what it is: a passing moment. That we may one day forget.
(I've always loved Peter Pan. When I was four, I would even dress up as Tinkerbelle!)
this post was so deep and I find myself going onto Disney plus right now and turning on Peter Pan haha. This is so meaningful and I do not think you are giving credit where it is not deserved. You really seem to have a childlike love for this movie, but now that you have grown up (that clock has kept moving) you see more than you did when you were younger, and that is a beautiful thing.
ReplyDeleteI think that as children we didn't realize that Disney movies had such a deep meaning. We only scratched the surface of the movie and understood the moral of the story, which was more than enough for the age that we were at. Disney movies especially have this classic feel to them that not only appeal to children but to adults as well, which is partly because of the deeper meaning that we realize the movie has as we grow up. Every princess, every character is a symbol, an essential part of the story line, no matter how small the character might be. Any adult, teenager, or child can find themselves in at least one Disney character, which is why Disney is so popular among all age groups. It's not just a movie, it is so much more.
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