Hakuna Matata

It means no worries for the rest of your days, it’s a carefree philosophy. Two very different incidents happened on my Friday night that have provoked much thought about this phrase and it’s meaning.

The first occurred at Olive Garden. My date and I (fine, fine, it was my Mom) were chatting and eating, your basic dinner out. About midway through our meal, I noticed rather animated gesturing coming from a table in front of ours, a little to the right, out of the corner of my eye. Seated there was an older couple, I’m guessing in their seventies. The old man grinned widely at me. A lemon wedge covered his teeth, a crazed expression covered his face, and he continued to gesture erratically in my direction. Him and his wife were in hysterics, giggling silently to themselves. At first I just stared, appalled at his behavior. After a few seconds of initial shock I tentatively smile at him, reducing them into another fit of silent laughter. Removing the lemon, both rise, still smiling as they turn to leave. I honestly haven’t seen two people laugh like that in a very long time. As I think back on that couple now, I realize that is the kind of person I want to be; the kind of person that this world could use more of. He obviously wasn’t concerned with what anyone around him was thinking and his wife was in no way embarrassed by his actions. Happiness radiated from their gleaming eyes and wrinkled smiles. There’s a lot to be taken from that, I think. Happiness is about being who you are. It’s about being silly and spontaneous and surrounding yourself with people who love you for that.

Now to the second incident. After dinner, we were at JC Penney. A sudden noise from the back section of the parking lot stops us before we can walk through the doors. Two boys, looking to be in their teens, were the source of this noise. One was singing a very slurred rendition of Hakuna Matata into a megaphone and the other seemed to be banging his head onto the hood of a car repeatedly. They were still there when we left the mall. Now, I’m not saying illegal substances were or weren’t involved in this little show because I don’t know. Either way, really? That’s how you’re choosing to spend your Friday night? Yes, it was entertaining and it will probably be an interesting story to tell, but that’s about the extent of it.

Basically, the connection between these two happenings I see is this: Time is precious. Waste it wisely.