The Wisdom from ‘Circle of Life’

If you had told me that there was actually something to glean from an old Disney song stuck in my head, I would’ve laughed.

Recently, my mom asked me to edit the song “Circle of Life” into a shorter version for an upcoming show. She’s a figure skating coach. Her little gaggle of tots would be skating to the famous Lion King strains. Like most times I edit music for her, the song has been stuck in my head for over four days. (This was especially annoying when I edited the Grease soundtrack.)

If there were a fly on the wall (actually, there are many flies) in our house, it would tell you that I’ve been belting out the lyrics at various times throughout the day, especially the chorus:

There’s more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There’s far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found

Circle of Life, The Lion King

I was singing it almost unconsciously, with no regard to the lyrics. But as I was lying in bed the other day, I stopped and thought about those exact lyrics: There’s more to see than can ever be seen. More to do than can ever be done.

And oh my goodness – it hit me. The lyricists get it. There are so many opportunities in this world, infinite even, and yet, they’re not all meant for us. Some are meant for Susie or Jane; some are for Bob or Joe. But not everything in this world is meant to be experienced by each and every one of us.

There’s such a relief in these limits.

I’m not going to travel everywhere on the planet. I won’t stay in every fancy or boutique hotel. I won’t hike every mountain. I won’t feast at every “amazing” restaurant. I won’t get to every white sandy beach with aqua blue water.

But I’ll stay in some hotels. I’ll hike some (small) mountains. I’ll eat at some great restaurants (and as someone who has a low-bar for good food, I basically consider every establishment serving food a “good restaurant”). I’ll visit some beaches.

But I won’t do it all. Because no one is meant to do it all.

Not everything in this world is meant for you, or for me. We can look at this either as a major disappointment or as a weight off of our shoulders. I will choose the latter. God knows what is meant for me, and so I trust that He will show me what that is. He won’t let me, or you, miss out.