The Greatest Showman

Every morning, for the past month, Ellie and I have rocked out to The Greatest Showman soundtrack on our drives to school. I’m thinking we aren’t the only ones doing this, because a few weeks ago we were jamming in my car before I dropped her off, and the lady parked next to me waved me down with a huge smile on her face.

When I rolled down my window, she told me that she and her daughter love that soundtrack and sing and dance to it in the car all the time!

I don’t know if I’ve ever had a soundtrack where I loved every single song like I do this one. Ellie enjoys singing and acting out “The Other Side”. My favorite is “A Million Dreams”. Saturday morning I woke up singing that song and Ellie chimed right on in with me as she woke up.

This weekend a friend and I were talking about how she’d just seen the movie for the first time and we both agreed it sparked something inside our souls. If you haven’t seen The Greatest Showman yet, I would highly recommend watching it. It’s based on the true story of P.T. Barnum’s (of Barnum and Bailey Circus) life.

I remember seeing the previews for the movie over Christmas break, but for some reason it didn’t really catch my interest. Then my dad raved about it, so I went and saw it, and it didn’t disappoint.

I bought it on Amazon before it was released in stores and I think Ellie and I watched it six times the first week. It’s become one of her all-time favorite movies, as well as mine.

Without giving the movie away, here are a few reasons why The Greatest Showman inspires me!

• Life leaves clues: Not everyone is born knowing exactly what they want to be when they grow up. We all have dreams, talents, and gifts, but we might not know how they could all work together to create the life of our dreams. I do believe if we pay attention, there are clues all around us, helping us gather information to move us closer to the life we’re meant to live. In the movie, we see how P.T. grows up poor and dreams of having money, a big house, and nice clothes. He’s good at inventing things and enjoys entertaining. He took notice when a woman, who was considered an outcast, gave him food when he was hungry. All of those seemingly insignificant details came together to create the circus.

• Haters gonna hate: When we are living our dreams we will not please everyone. In the movie, we see how the newspaper gave P.T bad reviews, the upper class looked down upon him as some kind of hoax, and then some of the civilians rioted his shows because he chose the outcasts as his performers for the circus. When we are constantly being criticized and questioned, it’s easy to lose sight of why we are doing what we’re doing in the first place. Sometimes, like P.T, we lose our way for a season, which hopefully brings us back around to reconnecting even more deeply with the essence of why we are doing what we’re doing!

• Risk and Resilience: Most dreams require taking a risk— whether a financial risk, risking your time with the ones you love, or risking your reputation. In the movie, Barnum takes a lot of risks and, at times, we’re not certain if they will pay off. Continually, he faces new and bigger challenges, and instead of giving up or throwing in the towel, like most people might, he rises from the ashes ? Every time. I’m convinced his willingness to take risks and be resilient at every setback created his overall success.

Ultimately, what touched me the most was the love he had for his family. His desire to create a better life for them drove his every decision. Wanting to see his wife and kids flourish in their dreams and passions, and doing all he could to create more opportunities for them, was most inspiring to me. This is what sparks my soul.

If you’ve seen the movie, I want to know what about it inspires you the most? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

As always, thank you so much for spending time with me today! Love and Blessings.

PS – About a month ago, as I was checking out at Ellie’s dentist’s office, I asked the receptionist if she’d received the book I left for her awhile back. A few months before, she’d confided in me she lost her daughter in a car accident. We were able to talk about loss and connect, so I felt compelled to drop her off Andrew’s book, A Gray Faith. Fast forward to last month, and she said she did get the book, that she’s read it several times, and that Andrew’s words have given her so much hope. She keeps it in her purse at all times. That blessed me to hear. If you know of someone who could use some hope and encouragement, check out Andrew’s book, A Gray Faith at www.ellieproject.com.