I’d watch @Pixar’s #Soul alone first before seeing it w/ the kids. There’s A LOT in here for adults, esp at this moment, esp this time of year, as you wrestle with the detours & what comes next. I’ve been thinking about it nonstop since I saw it last night (bravo @Powerkeni):

1. It’s ok if your career isn’t your life’s goal, if you have a regular jobby job, if you’ve spent your life on what you assumed was your “purpose” only to realize late that it’s not. What a lesson for kids in a world that defines success in $$, likes and other material things.

2. What if we defined it in connections with people, in being able to express yourself creatively, in mentorship. Maybe it’s the satisfaction that comes from shepherding a loved ones’ dreams. (Shout out to all those parents working long, hard hours so their kids won’t have to.)

3. My god, how long have we waited for an animated hero struggling so explicitly to find success/happiness in a middling career? The closest I can think of is the dad in Incredibles, who has a miserable desk job as a cover. But Soul is the story of just about every adult I know.

4. I love the idea of showing kids most of us have jobs we didn’t necessarily plan on (and maybe don’t love or like—that’s fair!) Seems like a healthy lesson for kids: doing what you love is a blessing. But it isn’t everything.

5. What happens when life has derailed all your plans and instead of pursuing your own goals, you have to take a backseat to someone else’s? How many mothers/caregivers are experiencing this right now?

6. What happens when you get what you think you want but it doesn’t feel like you thought it would? What then? Do you keep chasing the next thing or try to reconnect what drove your pursuit in the first place—the love for something that seemed almost gravitational in pull?

7. Kids are born with a *range* of personalities. Let them explore. Just because your child shows a propensity for something, doesn’t meant that is THE thing. Let them dabble. Let them taste test. We do too much pushing in one direction. (I’m so guilty of this!)

8. There will ALWAYS be ppl in life pushing you in a direction contrary to the one you want to go in. Some do it out of love and concern. (The mom.) Some do it because they have devoted their lives to measuring themselves against others. (The beancounters.)

9. I’m still wrestling with the Jerris, the “outlines”, and what they represent—these whisps of ideas that take hold, that encourage you to explore and seek out “mentors” who inspire you, who illuminate a path in a big, scary world. Go with it. The Jerris come in peace.

10. I LOVE the message about people the world defines as “crazy”, but are actually wandering spirits probably more in touch with happiness (and sadness) than any of us. They are easily misunderstood and scorned. But we need our wayfarers to show us another way.

11. The world is filled with people who just won’t understand you. Who will mislabel you. (Like it’s their job!) Who try to redirect you because that’s all they understand. You cannot internalize their feedback. This is the big lesson for kids and adults alike.

12. We have to let kids know that it’s not personal, & their job is to explore. To try and to fail and try some more. To discover for themselves what feels right. We all live in a surround sound of negative feedback. How can we arm our kids with the strength to ignore it?

13. One of the most moving lines is about walking a mile in another person’s shoes. Empathy. We make assumptions about people that are invariably wrong. The film is filled with revelations about why ppl chose the careers/jobs they did. Money is at the center of a lot of it.

14. It’s a hard truth about the world but lovingly framed for kids. We want them to be hopeful about the future but also not crushed when it doesn’t turn out the way they’d hoped, which is how it invariably goes, right? Let them measure success differently than we were raised to.

I’m still thinking about it, trying to decipher what it all means. It’s heady stuff and I suspect I’ll see more after another couple viewings.