Surface Pressure

I finally joined Disney fans and watched the big crush of the season, "Encanto" with my little miss this afternoon. While shopping in Trader Joes today I overheard a little girl telling her mom she heard "Encanto" on the radio playing and it reminded me that I was wanting to see what all the fuss was about, so we had ourselves a movie date- complete with popcorn and apples.

As I watched the film, I couldn't help but feel I was in a Columbian version of a Bollywood film- whenever a character was feeling an emotion, they would just put their heart into it and sing! I love musicals and my daughter is very into dance as well, so this was a win for both of us. Sure there were some parts that were a little eery, such as when they showed us the character of Bruno, but we got through those parts snuggled together.

What stuck with me the most was how deep the lyrics and dialogue were. Definitely something a 4 year old watching wouldn't pick up on...heck I bet there was a lot I missed too. Now I know why my best friend said she'd have to go back and rewatch some of it- lots to take in.

There was 1 song in particular that just really stuck with me: Surface Pressure. The beat of the song has a hip-hop, get your dark swag on kind of feel to it. If I was to choreograph a dance to it, it would involve black hats, dark pants, and perhaps a cane to dance with as there's a jazzy feel that slowly moves into a more "get down" kind of beat. Moms are going to connect with this song....nurses...teachers...any caretaker is going to feel the tug of it. Is this really a Disney movie?

"I'm the strong one, I'm not nervous

I'm as tough as the crust of the earth is..."

We have this notion that we have to always be the "strong ones" around- if we don't carry on with that expectation, then what will happen to the world we know around us? If we are overwhelmed, it's just too bad because there are things we just need to do. What does that lead to? "Pressure like a tick, tick, tick 'til it's ready to blow, whoa" and eventually we do BLOW!

It made me think of every time I am stressed that feeling inside of me that I just need something- a glass of wine, handful of chips, a few cookies, something to take care of that emotion that won't settle unless it's taken care of in some way. We don't think to tell someone about it- "I hide my nerves, and it worsens, I worry something is gonna hurt us..." and that just leads to the cycle starting all over again. Mad about it? It's ok...that's what those peanut M&M's from Halloween are for. And then we're mad about eating the candy...and so on and so forth.

Could Luisa be reminding us caretakers of what we really need?

"If I could shake the crushing weight of expectations

Would that free some room up for joy

Or relaxation, or simple pleasure?"

Are these expectations something that someone has told us or are we putting it on ourselves? Is that the "gift" we've been given, or are we just trying to please someone (as Luisa is trying to please the family.) I think she's onto something- I think we need to stop before that eye starts twitching and think about the heavy load we put on ourselves daily. I bet if we did, our shoulders would relax, our face would soften, and the need to begin a binge cycle would disappear.

I don't know if this movie was written for the young ones, or for parents to get a bit of a wake up call....but it worked on me! I didn't have tissues out as I heard some Moms and Dads needing, but I definitely was cheering a "yeah" as I heard Luisa's tune and emotional secret.

Put the song on your phone, jot the lyrics down on your mirror, or sit down with your cuties and watch the movie- we all need reminders from time to time to let go of the "pressure."