Hakuna Matata

Messages from the universe find us in different ways. Remaining alert, remaining aware is key to receiving those messages when they do. And sometimes, when the messages find us and we fail to pay attention, the universe yells.

For me, I’ve learned that when information finds me through different channels in a short period of time, I’m supposed to pay attention. Take some time and try to figure out what the message means. The first time it happens, well, that’s just a coincidence, right? The second time it happens, well, it’s more than a coincidence…it’s weird…that’s what it is. The third time? Yeah. That’s the universe yelling—HELLLLLOOOOOO PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!! I’M TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING!!! And so you do and try and interpret what the universe is trying to say.

A few weeks ago, I was in Denver, Colorado all ready to watch the Red Wings take on the Colorado Avalanche in the Coors Light NHL Stadium Series. (in case you’re wondering, the Wings won the game where the points counted). Before the face off, I took a trip to see friends who had recently purchased a retirement home in Boulder. The mode of transportation via the Flatiron Flyer was an experience unto itself and perhaps blog worthy at some point---The Rocky Mountains framed by the window in my friends' home looked like someone had painted them on the glass. No one did. They were real. Pretty darn cool…So when you see mountains like that, well, you just have to hike on them there mountains when you have the opportunity, don’t you? And so we did.

Hiking back down from the top where we had spent hours scaling the mountains to arrive at…Okay maybe not quite the top… maybe 250 yards from where we started…anyway, as we were hiking, the conversation turned to how Boulder residents are carefree. My mind connected that to legal marijuana but that thought lagged behind what I said…. Which was “hakuna matata”. Now, I haven’t used those words in more than a decade—or more—it’s not a “Pat phrase”. Yeah…no worries. It’s like people in Boulder…no worries. And that was that.

I returned to Denver—via the Flatiron Flyer bus. Yes that is a note of pride you hear. My friend Candace and I went to the Wings game, had a great time and decided to Uber it back to the hotel. (If Uber isn’t a verb, it should be or will be soon). Our Uber vehicle is a van. I open the door, look for the ladder to close the gap between the ground and the bottom of the van or at least a running board… vans are not friendly to the short. While looking, I realize there’s a party goin on…Caribbean music, beads around the rearview mirror, a flag on a small wooden stick flying high and stuck in a vent near the dashboard, dim lights for just the right amount of atmosphere. And the driver…the driver smiling…movin to the groove. Must be a bit like what the Cash Cab riders feel like when they are first approached. If you haven’t watched Cash Cab, you need to.

--Where you goin’ to mon?

--Love the music…

--Oh yaaa, lovin’ the muzac…

--Where’s the flag from?

--That be from the Congo Mon…

--Is that where you’re from?

--Yes Mon, been here 11 years now…

--And what are the people like in the Congo?

--It’s like hakuna matata mon—no worries—know what I mean?

Ummmm, yeah, I did know what he meant.

Same day, two hours later, I’m back in my hotel room, Jimmy Fallon in the background as makeup remover slides across my face. Out of my peripheral vision, an outline of the old 25,000 pyramid show appears which Jimmy and one of his guests will play. The categories are read and …one of the categories…yeah. You guessed it. Hakuna Matata.

Seriously?

So what’s the universe trying to tell me? Hakuna Matata. It means no worries for the rest of your days…it’s a problem free..philosophy…hakuna matata.

I liked that. Don’t worry. No need to worry. Everything will work out.

I’m not a worrier by nature, at least not consciously. Subconsciously? Still, nothing. Couldn’t think of anything I was really worried about.

A week goes by. I’m telling another friend, Liz, about the Hakuna Matata barrage. I finish. She hands me her iPad to search for a restaurant. I begin my search. The page appears. I read the menu, scroll down and there it is, a Timon and Pumbaa video. I click. The movie clip where they sing Hakuna Matata…in Spanish no less.

Obviously, I’ve not properly interpreted the universe’s message. There’s something more. I had to dig deeper. And so I think about Lion King. Lion King is the very first play my daughter, Sophina, saw. She was three. I didn’t think she would make it, but she did with Zazu perched beside her. Sophina is now in her second year of a Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the University of Minnesota which is connected with the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis. The first play she attended had its debut in Minneapolis. So no worries there. Confirmation she is exactly where she is supposed to be.

And digging deeper still. At what point in Lion King do Timon and Pumbaa sing Hakuna Matata? They meet Simba after he’s run away from home. Timon and Pumbaa’s message is to live in the moment, forget about all that bad stuff and get on with life. One blog I read looks at this as the dark side of hakuna matata, saying the two should not have introduced this hakuna matata lifestyle to Simba and forget about his past. But I think this misses the lesson. Simba was a lion cub. Simba was in no position to return, to take on his Uncle Scar. And maybe, just maybe, it was a time in his life that he needed to focus on himself, focus on growing up with no worries. When the time was right, Nala appeared. And at that point, Simba was in a position to return. To remember. To learn from his past. To realize he could not have done more as a cub. To understand that living in the moment with no worries can also mean living in the moment while understanding the past, putting the past in the proper perspective. Sometimes this takes time, distance.

I think I got it now universe…thanks…Hakuna Matata.

Patricia Nemeth received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). She earned her Juris Doctorate and Masters of Labor Law degree from Wayne State University School of Law. She is the founding partner of Nemeth Law, P.C. which is celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2017. Patricia decided to start a personal blog because she wanted to write about topics other than the law.